Something Worth Fighting For
by Angel Dove1
Summary: Jounouchi's life hasn't been easy since he graduated from High School. He struggles with depression even keeping his friends at arms length. When he finally meets the one person to make him happy, he loses him the next day. Will he be able to find the kidnapped CEO or will his life forever be a world full of darkness. Warnings: Yaoi, Violence, Language, Mention of Torture and Abuse
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-gi-oh or any of the characters.

Finally I have finished this project. It has taken me several long months, seven months to be exact. It started as two separate stories before I decided that they sort of matched together. Hopefully I've managed to tie everything together so it reads smoothly. I'll upload a new chapter hopefully every Monday and Friday as I read through this one last time to make sure I caught anything that would be confusing. Anyway, let's get this story started

Whole Story Warnings: Violence, mentions of torture and abuse, language and yaoi (MaleXMale) if any of this bothers you please don't read this story.

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Chapter One

Jounouchi's hand slid slowly from the base of his member up to the head. He sighed in relief, enjoying the pleasurable sensations rolling through his body. He bit his lower lip, silencing his moans. Times like these were too small in between. He needed more time, but living with two other roommates made it difficult to find the time. He blushed from embarrassment, wondering what his friends would say if they knew he masturbated in the bathroom every time they weren't home. He growled, shaking those thoughts from his head. This was not the time to be distracted. He felt the pleasure increasing as more precum leaked out of the head. He gathered the sticky substance and used it as lubricate to hurry his pleasure along. Just as he was about to climax, he heard his name being shouted from the direction of the front door. He cursed and hurried his climax along. He released into his hand, careful not to get any of it on his clothes or any other surface.

Pounding came at the door. "Jounouchi, are you in there?"

The blond rolled his eyes. "Obviously, Yugi, I'll be out in a minute."

"Okay, Honda and I went shopping. There's plenty of food to make dinner with."

Jounouchi sighed and moved over to the sink. There goes his moment. He washed the cum off his hand and redressed himself. He stopped beside the door to push the button to their air freshener. There goes the private time he craved. He moved slowly through the small house until he reached the first floor. Honda was in the kitchen putting things away while Yugi was shuffling through the mail. "I'm surprised you haven't seen the letter from your sister, yet."

"I just got home and went straight to the bathroom," Jounouchi lied, taking the colorful envelope from the smaller man. He'd read it later. He was sure his sister was saying something that he didn't want to hear like countless other letters. He truly loved his sister, but there was only so many times he wanted to hear about her newest boyfriend or the teachers giving her a hard time. He hardly responded to her; it was more along the lines as he didn't know what to say as opposed to not caring. His sister always thought he was too busy and never minded if he only responded to one out of three of her letters. He felt horrible doing that, but his depressed mind hated to hear or see anyone else happy. "Is there anything from the old man or the hospital?"

Yugi frowned and shook his head. Even though Jounouchi barely talked about his alcoholic father, the duelist could tell how much his father still haunted him. Yugi watched Jounouchi disappear into the kitchen to make dinner. He still remembered the day he found Jounouchi cradling his father's pale hand while he sat waiting for the ambulance. He was meeting Jounouchi for their usual Friday night outing when he made that discovery. Jounouchi never spoke about what happened. They took his father to the hospital, and after a week, straight to the mental institution. The only thing he knew was that Jounouchi's father tried to kill himself while he was drunk. The government almost took everything Jounouchi owned, which wasn't much including the house, since everything was in his father's name before he was qualified for government assistance. It would be two years tomorrow since they locked his father away. That was the reason behind the three of them finding a house together, even though they had started that plan before the incident. It became more solid of a plan after that. They not only wanted to keep an eye on Jounouchi but help him survive even though the blond proved countless times that he could take care of himself. The only good thing to come out of it was that they all graduated two weeks before everything happened. He sighed and glanced over at the kitchen. His only wish was that Jounouchi would talk to someone about what happened. If not to one of them, maybe to a doctor. Yugi didn't want Jounouchi to end up like his father, locked in a hospital.

Honda smiled at Jounouchi as he reached up for a frying pan. "What did you have planned for tonight?"

Jounouchi sighed and started chopping some onions. "Simple hamburgers. I'm not very hungry."

Honda frowned and leaned against the counter. "Maybe you should quit you part-time job. You should be making enough money on the full-time job in order to help with the bills."

Jounouchi kneaded the onions into the ground beef. "I need to continue to save. What if Dad gets out and I have nothing saved? He can't live here. There's not enough space."

"We can take over making dinner that way you can sleep until your nightshift."

"You'll burn the house down."

"I might, but Yugi won't."

"He can't reach everything," Jounouchi mumbled.

Honda might have laughed if not for the serious look in Jounouchi's eyes. "Why don't you go out with Yugi and I tomorrow night?" You can meet some girls. I'm sure you must be lonely by now."

"I don't have enough time for girls. I'm sure they won't like only going out once or twice a week. Besides I don't think Otogi and Atemu would like going to a straight bar. In fact, I'm surprised Yugi hasn't told us that he was moving in with Atemu yet. I'm sure he wants to since they were separated for three years." Jounouchi thought back to Yugi's reaction when Atemu showed up on their step, telling him that he would rather have another life to spend with Yugi then eternity at peace with his family. He gained a large inheritance from his family, something that only Malik knew about. To this day, that was what Atemu was living off. Jounouchi knew that he must have asked Yugi countless times to move it. It never made sense why his friend wouldn't comply.

Honda sighed. " Maybe he doesn't want to leave us with the bills."

"I could always get another part-time job or ask the job I already have to make me full-time. I'll make ends meet somehow."

"And kill yourself while you're at it. Jounouchi, when's enough? Maybe you should start seeing a psychologist. You hardly laugh. I'm sure you're sexually frustrated. Yugi and I can disappear on your day off, and you can spend all day with a lady friend."

Jounouchi flipped the hamburgers a few times before draining all the grease off and placing them on a bun. "Look I'm really not into women. Mai was only a one time thing, a way for me to forget about things for a moment. I'm more attracted to males."

Honda grinned and slapped him on the back, nearly causing him to drop the two plates as he set them down on the table. "I'm glad you're one of us. Let's go out tomorrow. I'll introduce you to some nice looking men that would go easy on a virgin like you."

The blond sighed. He had no intentions of sleeping with the first man he saw, not when his heart was already owned by someone he never noticed that he loved until he didn't see him everyday. "I'll think about it," he answered, walking into the living room. Yugi sat in front of the computer chuckling as he typed his response to Atemu, who surprisingly adapted to technology rather quickly. "Dinner is ready. I'm going to take a small nap before going to work."

"You're not eating?" Jounouchi shook his head, disappearing back upstairs. He had no intentions of sleeping, but he had a strong urge to be alone while his thoughts were plagued by the brunet beauty from his past. Maybe his friends were right. Maybe he should start talking to a therapist. He didn't feel like himself anymore, and he had not interests in doing anything else besides work and sleep. He didn't know what depression felt like, but he bet he had it.

Yugi typed something quickly on the messenger before walking into the kitchen. "Is something bothering, Jounouchi?"

"I don't know," Honda replied picking up his hamburger. "He said he wasn't very hungry. He might be overworking himself again. Oh, and he told me he was gay and may go out with us tomorrow."

"That's shocking."

"I know! I could have sworn that he was straight."

"Not that. I never expected him to go out with us. He usually sleeps on his nights off, especially with how depressed he's been."

"You're not shocked he's gay?"

"No, he was never comfortable around girls that flirted with him. Mai seemed to be the exception to the rule. Didn't you notice?" Yugi gasped and smirked. "Actually I only remember his gaze following one person during high school besides Mai."

Honda slammed his hands on the table. "Who? Why didn't I notice it?"

Yugi thought twice. "Maybe not. I don't think it's possible. He could have been watching him in order to keep his defenses up."

"Who?"

"Kaiba."

Honda chuckled. "Doubtful. He was probably keeping an eye on him like you said for defense."

"You really think he's lonely. Maybe he wants to see his father but is afraid of his reaction. It was Jounouchi who signed the papers to have him committed."

"I don't think he's afraid of seeing his father, but I agree that he might be feeling guilty. I think if he has someone special to help him through his depression he could be happy again. I've tried everything to make him smile, and I know you did as well. Let's try this. If it don't work, I'll get my parents to loan me the car, and we'll take Jounouchi to see his father." Yugi nodded before taking his first bite of the semi cold hamburger, keeping the obviously different blond in his mind.

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There's chapter one. I hope it's okay. I tried for a different type of beginning then what I usually do. A little bit spicy. Thank you all for reading. Please review. I'll upload the next chapter on Friday.

Angel Dove


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you all for your kind reviews. I'm happy that I'm getting some responses to this story. I know it's hard to assess a story from the first chapter, but thank you for your thoughts. I forgot to say that most of the chapters are going to seem like they run into the other only because they were suppose to be separate stories that I made into one. Anyway, time for the next chapter.

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Chapter Two

The following night five friends walked into a semi-crowded gay bar. Couples sat together at the various tables, trying to talk over the loud music. Jounouchi squinted his eyes over to the dance floor, attempting to ignore the fast flash of colors coming from the strobe lights. He moved with his friends over to the bar, and he slid into a bar stool, blushing as the leather pants Atemu convinced him to wear squeaked.

Honda frowned and leaned towards Atemu. "Why did you make him wear those? He's obviously uncomfortable."

"They hug his ass nicely. Once we get him on the dance floor no one would be able to resist him," Yugi answered quickly. He squeaked from his sudden words and placed his hands over his blushing cheeks. Atemu chuckled. He loved it when Yugi spoke without thinking. It proved he had a dirty mind like the rest of them.

Atemu chuckled. "Well, I would have said that differently but that is basically the reason."

"Guys look at who's on the dance floor!" Otogi nearly shouted.

All their eyes drifted in the same direction and widened as they saw the dancing CEO. "Kaiba!" Yugi gasped, putting his hand over his mouth. "He looks good," he groaned, again not thinking.

"Aibou! You have a very bad mouth tonight. I'll have to punish you later for it."

Yugi snickered, completely forgetting about Kaiba and everyone else around him. "Maybe I want you to, my Pharaoh." Yugi didn't know what came over him, but it was obviously turning on his dark half. That was a task easily accomplished when he talked dirty to him.

Jounouchi rolled his eyes at the two and turned towards Honda who was already lip locked with Otogi. "Thanks for the great night," he thought, going back to watching Kaiba dance. His hips moved with the fast pace of the song. Every now and then he would grind with a man near him or someone would come up behind him. Jounouchi grew jealous of the men that touched the one he longed for. He could tell by the way Kaiba moved that he was slightly intoxicated. His cheeks had a slight glow to him, and the open black shirt he wore revealed his sweaty chest.

Jounouchi moved on his own. It was like Kaiba's dance was calling to him. His friends watched him moving closer to the CEO, completely shocked. The blond glided through the flock of people surrounding the carefree brunet. Jounouchi came up behind him, placing his hands on Kaiba's hips. He mimicked Kaiba's motion until the song changed to a slower tempo. He swayed them back and forth while he placed his lips right by Kaiba's ear.

"You've changed, Kaiba."

The brunet moaned to the hot breath against his sweaty neck. He leaned further into the blond, recognizing his voice instantly. "Only for you." Kaiba flipped and placed his hands around Jounouchi's neck. "You've kept me waiting for a long time. I knew someday I'd see you again," the brunet answered with a slight slur

"There's a lot we need to talk about. How many drinks have you had?"

Kaiba shrugged. "That's the problem with so many flirting people. I lose track of how many drinks people buy me. I can call my driver." The brunet moved off the dance floor and over to the door only stumbling once.

Jounouchi ran over to his friends. "I'm going to make sure he gets home okay and maybe stay with him through the night. I'll see you guys tomorrow."

"Okay, Jounouchi. If you need help, call us." The blond nodded and quickly ran after the CEO.

Yugi watched Jounouchi leave with a frown. He knew that Kaiba would never hurt Jounouchi, but he couldn't help but feel disappointed that again his friend was going home dateless. Yugi leaned further into Atemu who wrapped his arms around his waist. "You don't think they secretly like each other, do you?"

Atemu kissed Yugi's neck. "It's hard to tell with Jounouchi and even harder with Kaiba, but with the way they dance it seemed like they do. We will find out later. I am sure Jounouchi will tell you. Now, come dance with me, Aibou."

Jounouchi slipped into the backseat of the limousine directly after Kaiba slithered his way in. Kaiba slouched in his seat and looked over at Jounouchi just as the limousine started moving. Kaiba moved closer to the blond and leaned his head on his shoulder. "How long have you been going to clubs?" Jounouchi asked, stiffening slightly at having his crush close to him.

"I started a year after we graduated. I missed you but didn't have the courage to visit you. Knowing that all your friends were gay and that they go out on Saturdays, I started visiting different gay bars every Saturday night, hoping that one day I'd find you or your friends. A couple months ago, I found Honda and Otogi at that bar. I knew eventually you'd come and normally sat in the corner waiting for you to come. Tonight I was extremely depressed and accepted the first invitation to dance. I didn't even notice you coming in. I'm glad you spotted me."

Jounouchi smiled. A drunk Kaiba was a talkative Kaiba. The brunet curled further into his side. "I'm cold, Jounouchi."

"Your shirt is still open. Sit up a second." Jounouchi reached for Kaiba's shirt, fixing the collar before he slowly buttoned the black shirt.

Kaiba moved back against Jounouchi, resting his head in his lap. "Will you stay with me tonight?"

Jounouchi moved his fingers through Kaiba's slightly tangled brown hair. "I can," he answered softly.

The brunet smiled and placed his hand on Jounouchi's thigh. "Thank you. I didn't want to be alone."

The blond watched as Kaiba slowly drifted off to sleep. He continued to slid his fingers through his hair as he watched the city move outside of the tinted window. Tonight was a lucky night. He could spend the night with the man he loved. His only fear was the morning. Would Kaiba be this affectionate without alcohol in his system? Jounouchi leaned his head against his hand. That was a risk he felt he had to take. Tonight he would not run away.

The limousine stopped outside of Kaiba's mansion. Even though Jounouchi had seen it before, it still shocked him at how large the building was. He gently shook Kaiba. When all the blond got was a mumbled response, Jounouchi chuckled and opened the door. He slid out first and reached inside to lift the surprisingly light Kaiba. The driver quickly walked up to the front door and opened it for him. "Thank you," Jounouchi whispered, not wanting to wake Kaiba. "Do you know where his room is?"

The tall raven haired man smiled. "I'll lead you."

The walk to the CEO's bedroom was amazingly long. They first walked down the long hallway with a strip of beige carpet leading from the foyer to the long wooden stairs. The second floor hallway had the similar style floor. The walls were woodened with various paintings every few yards. They passed several doors before the driver stopped in front of one. He opened the door and Jounouchi gasped in amazement. The room was huge. The walls were white and the carpet was sky blue. In the center of the room was a king size sapphire bed. The blankets were creased nicely over the pillows.

Jounouchi thanked the driver again and set the taller man down on the bed. He gently took his shoes off and after some struggle he removed Kaiba's shirt. The slumbering man did nothing but grumble before curling to his right side. Jounouchi smiled at the peaceful face Kaiba wore before lifting half of the blanket up and folding it over the brunet.

The blond moved over to the desk directly in front of the window. Kaiba's laptop sat idle on the side of the desk while a stack of papers laid on the other side. Everything seemed neatly in place except for a photo frame that laid on its face. Jounouchi reached for it and glanced at Mokuba's smiling face. He stood next to Kaiba who wore his usual work suit and emotionless face. Mokuba must have just graduated from middle school and was entering into a very familiar high school behind him. Jounouchi laughed, wondering what Kaiba thought when Mokuba started attending the same high school that he graduated from. He glanced down at the desk, wondering why the photo was the only thing out of place. He shrugged and placed the picture back down on the desk, setting it close to Kaiba's laptop. It could have easily been knocked over in Kaiba's rush, not that Jounouchi ever noticed Kaiba hurrying for anything, but times have changed for the both of them.

Jounouchi moved the leather chair away from the desk. He sighed in comfort as he sank further into the chair. He was oddly tired but didn't want to leave Kaiba alone. The blond wasn't sure how much alcohol the brunet consumed and wanted to be there to help him if needed. It wasn't long until he found his eyes drooping. He fought the fatigue as much as he could, but it won, and he fell asleep in the soft leather chair.

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Another chapter finished. The next chapter will be uploaded on Monday morning. Thank you all for reading please review.

Angel Dove


	3. Chapter 3

Thank you again for the your kind reviews. This chapter is a little longer than the previous chapters. Onward to the next chapter.

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Chapter Three

Jounouchi woke the next morning, startled that he didn't recognize the room he was in. Then his memory returned, and he looked over at the empty bed. Kaiba must have noticed him sitting here, maybe he remembered something about the night before. The blond stretched and popped his sore joints until he didn't feel discomfort from sleeping upright. He moved out of the room and down to the first floor. He wondered where Kaiba was until he heard two quiet voices. He snuck a glance into the large living room to the right of the stairs.

Kaiba sat on the edge of the large black couch, combing Mokuba's hair who sat in-between his legs. It looked natural for the both of them as if they've always talked to each other while Kaiba combed Mokuba's hair. It also didn't explain the picture being knocked over. Kaiba had to have been in a hurry. Maybe he was late going to the bar or work. "I can't force him to stay if he wants to leave."

"But, Nii-sama, I thought you loved him enough to try."

"I do, Mokie, but I refuse to keep him here against his will." Kaiba set the comb on the floor before moving Mokuba's long hair to the middle of his back. "I didn't get to talk much to him last night."

Mokuba tilted his head up towards Kaiba. "I think the fact that he stayed is a good sign."

"I'm not getting my hopes up." Kaiba stood and brushed Mokuba's loose strands of hair off his pants. He moved away from the couch and out of Jounouchi's sight.

The blond was in shock. He didn't think Kaiba's drunken ramble was anything close to how he felt. He chose that time to move into the living room. Mokuba smiled up at him. "Good morning, Jounouchi. Are you hungry?"

Jounouchi was speechless as he stared at Kaiba. He couldn't wrap his mind around the fact that not only did the brunet returned his feelings, but he was too shy to admit them to anyone besides Mokuba. After a few moments, he answered the raven haired teen, "Not really."

Mokuba blinked. He wasn't used to Jounouchi not jumping at the chance of free food or food in general. "Are you feeling alright?"

The blond moved his gaze away from Kaiba and onto Mokuba. "I haven't been eating much lately. I guess when you get older your appetite changes."

"Mokuba, can you let us talk in private?" Kaiba asked, wanting to get the disappointment over with quickly.

"Sure. I'll be in the kitchen."

"Thank you." Kaiba watched Mokuba disappear through the doorway connecting the living room to the dinning room. He moved over to the couch. "We need to talk about last night. Have a seat."

Jounouchi moved over to the couch and sat down next to Kaiba. He figured that they would, but he didn't know what to expect. He thought Kaiba would deny everything in order to hide his feelings. They remained quiet for a few minutes before Jounouchi decided he should start. "I know you have feelings for me. I don't want you denying it before I have a chance to tell you that I feel the same."

Kaiba stared into Jounouchi's eyes before sighing. "I wasn't going to deny it. I didn't want last night forcing your decision."

"It didn't. I didn't know I had feelings for you until I didn't see you everyday. I missed all the arguments we had, the way you would always glare at Yugi every time he beat you, but I missed seeing the subtle smile that you only gave Mokuba the most. I hoped one day I would be lucky enough to make you smile at me."

The CEO stared at Jounouchi for awhile before smiling softly. "If that is all you needed from me, I could have done that a long time ago. I never resented you. In fact, I found it enduring that you would always challenge me even though you knew you never had a chance. The courage and determination is what kept me looking at you. You didn't care who I was or the fact that I had tons of money. That is something I always wanted in a lover. Just like you, I didn't realize until all my days were filled with nothing but people kissing my ass or wanting to find some way to destroy me or my company. I needed someone to see me for me and not for the Kaiba name."

Jounouchi swung his right leg up on the couch and pulled Kaiba into his arms. The brunet stiffened at first before slowly relaxing. His body craved the comfort Jounouchi offered him. He wrapped his own arms around the blond and pulled himself closer to him, almost sitting in his lap. He placed his head on Jounouchi's shoulder, catching a glimpse of his smiling brother before he moved back into the dinning room.

The two remained in that position for several hours, neither one of them wishing to move or speak. Jounouchi eventually leaned back against the side of the couch and stretched his legs out while Kaiba moved his body in-between his legs and rested his head on Jounouchi's chest. They drifted off to sleep, not catching Mokuba who snapped a picture of them cuddling on the couch. Mokuba closed the living room door, informing the staff not to go in there.

He moved upstairs to his room, intending on playing video games all day, however, the phone rang after a few hours into playing. He quickly reached for it, hoping the noise wouldn't wake the others. "Kaiba residence."

"Mokuba?"

"Yugi? Long time no see."

"We've been busy lately. Sorry we haven't called. Actually I was curious if Jounouchi is still there. He said he'd be back in the morning and it's close to noon. His shift starts in a few hours."

Mokuba frowned. "He's still here."

"Do you know if he's planning on coming home soon? Honda and I could eat out if he's planning on heading straight to work."

"I don't know. I could ask and have him call you back."

"I can wait on the line."

"No, I need to find him first. He's somewhere with Seto."

"Okay. Thanks Mokuba." Mokuba frowned as he hung up the phone. He didn't want to bother those two, but he also didn't want Jounouchi getting into trouble at his work.

Mokuba moved out of his room and quietly walked down the stairs. As he approached the living room, he smiled at hearing quiet whispers and chuckles. He knocked first before sliding the door open. Jounouchi and Kaiba sat beside each other, drinking tea. Mokuba walked over to them with the phone still in his hand. He held it out to Jounouchi. "Yugi called. He said something about eating out if you were going straight to work from here. He wanted you to call him."

The blond sighed and reached up for the phone. "He's probably more worried about the fact that I'm not home yet. He probably thought I was lost somewhere."

"Mother hen." Kaiba mumbled.

Jounouchi chuckled. "Something like that. He was the first person to see me after my father tried to commit suicide. I wasn't in the right mind at the time." The two stared at him. "I'm better now, and my father is getting help in a hospital," he said quickly not wanting the pity.

The brunet sighed. "I know that they might be pushing you as well, but if it means anything, I'll listen to whatever you have on your mind." Jounouchi smiled and was about to say something when Kaiba continued. "You better call Yugi. I can drive you back home."

"Thank you." Jounouchi dialed Yugi's number, surprised that he answered on the first ring. "It's me. I'm okay. No, I'll come home and make something. I need to shower anyway. Kaiba will drive me home. I'll see you soon." Jounouchi hung up and passed the phone back to Mokuba. "I start work in five hours. I should get going."

Kaiba rose and patted Mokuba on the head. "I'll be right back."

Mokuba smiled and followed them to the door. "Don't be a stranger, Jounouchi."

"I won't. See you later, Kid."

Kaiba walked over to the garage and got into one of his sport cars. Jounouchi slid in carefully, concerned about damaging the seemingly new car. Kaiba glanced at him. "Don't worry about getting the car dirty or damaging it, Jounouchi. I do have enough money to fix it."

The blond frowned. "I don't want to be the cause of any damage."

Kaiba decided to change the conversation that was obviously making the blond uncomfortable. He started the car and drove carefully down the driveway and pass the gates that opened for him. "Will you come over again?"

"Anytime you want me to. I know you're busy."

"When's your next day off?"

"Next Saturday all day. I don't usually work Friday Night through Sunday afternoon."

"You work the graveyard shift?"

"Sort of. I work my full-time job from seven to three in the morning and then my part-time job from four to eight in the morning."

Kaiba stared at him. "When do you sleep?"

"Usually from ten until four. I've been doing that for two years now."

"I thought you live with Yugi and Honda."

"I do, but I need money encase my father leaves the hospital. I want to be able to move on an instant."

"Can't he stay at your house until you're ready?"

"It's not big enough. Plus he could be a handful at times. At least he used to be. I don't know how he'd react after getting out."

"Have you asked him?"

Jounouchi frowned. "I haven't spoken to him since before he tried to kill himself. He refused to speak to me in the hospital. I'm sure he's angry that I locked him away."

"You'll never know until you ask. I can always drive you there."

The blond sighed. "Honestly, I don't know if I'm ready to know how he truly feels. I'll keep your offer in mind." Kaiba turned onto the next street. "How do you know where I live?" Jounouchi asked, suddenly realizing that he never told the brunet.

"Truthfully, I always knew where you lived, especially since you also said you lived with Yugi. I'd like to say I keep track of Yugi, but that's not true. I'm more concerned about you than Yugi."

Jounouchi chuckled. "So you're my stalker."

Kaiba blushed and stopped directly outside of Jounouchi's house. "It's not like that!"

The blond laughed harder, enjoying the feel of laughter again. It felt like all his stress was slowly leaving him. Finally trying to control his laughter, Jounouchi looked over at Kaiba. "I never knew I could make you blush so easily." The ex-duelist took a few deep breaths to settle his laughter and wipe the tears from his eyes, turning more serious. "I'm honored that you find me attractive enough to follow." Jounouchi leaned over and kissed Kaiba's cheek. The CEO stared slightly angered out the window. He didn't like showing his weaknesses. "Thank you." He wrote his number down on a piece of paper he found in his pocket with the pen that sat in Kaiba's cup holder. "Call me tomorrow afternoon. Maybe we can do something at the end of the week."

Kaiba took the paper. "I will." Jounouchi smiled and made to get out of the car. Kaiba grabbed his hand and gently pulled him back. He brushed his lips across Jounouchi's. "I'll see you later."

The blond blushed to the gentle touch. "See you later." He squeezed Kaiba's hand and got out of the car. He walked to the top of his front stairs and turned around to wave before disappearing inside. He felt different from how he had been feeling. Jounouchi gently shut the door with a smile. He looked forward to talking to Kaiba again. Who would have known that was possible, especially knowing how they treated each other in high school?

"Is that you, Jounouchi?" Yugi called from the kitchen.

The blond walked towards the voice. "It's me." He stopped in his tracks, seeing Yugi stirring a large pot of what smelt like curry. "What are you doing?"

"Making curry."

"'Isn't that my job?"

"Actually it's all our job, but you appointed yourself as the only one that can cook. Honda put all the pots and ingredients that I would need on the table. Even though Honda can't cook, he can get everything that you like to hide on the top shelves. We believe it's time for a change," Yugi continued to ramble. "Since we only have one job and school part-time and you have two, we will be the ones to cook meals from now on. That way you can spend more time sleeping and with your special someone."

"I never said cooking was a problem."

"You never complain about anything. We want to see that smile again and not those dark circles under your eyes and that frown. You also need to gain more weight."

Yugi's rambling was interrupted by Jounouchi bursting into laughter, shocking the smaller man. The blond's laughter attracted Honda who had been cleaning the upstairs at the time. The two stared in shock at their friend. It had been too long since he smiled or laughed. He thought it felt good the first time, but the second time felt even better. Finally getting his laughter under control once more, Jounouchi explained, "Kaiba was right," he snickered. "He told me that he couldn't understand why I looked like shit when my mother hen was living with me. I didn't fully understand what he meant until you started rambling." The blond laughed again, wiping more tears from his cheeks. "So, Mom, when will dinner be ready?"

Yugi puffed his cheeks and pouted. "I do not act motherly."

Honda laughed. "Just now you did," the brunet said with a smile.

Yugi sighed and moved back to the pot. He smiled gently, happy that spending the night with Kaiba was enough to bring a smile back to his face. Who would have known that Jounouchi held strong feelings for his once enemy? "Did you sleep at all?"

"I must have sometime during the night and took a nap earlier," Jounouchi answered, leaving out the fact that his nap was cuddling with Kaiba. Yugi placed a dish in front of Jounouchi and Honda before getting his own. I'm going straight to work today. I may be home earlier tomorrow. Kaiba is calling me in the afternoon."

"That's great, Jounouchi." The blond smiled at his two friends and continued eating his dinner while quietly talking to them about random things.

The night seemed to move quicker than normal even though Jounouchi kept a close eye on the clock. He tried to keep his attention on cleaning each office of the large building he worked in at night, but he found himself wondering where they should go on his next day off. Before he knew it, Jounouchi was packing up his cleaning supplies and moving towards his part-time job at the bakery. At least time moved faster, and he had less time to stare at the clock with the bakers constantly throwing food that needed packed before they opened. Then, he found more people coming to the bakery that day. Jounouchi exhausted himself between running back and forth for various donuts, Danishes and other breakfast items. As he left the morning, Jounouchi oddly felt excited about talking to Kaiba. It made more sense to him now that they were older that he could have a civilized conversation with the once cold-hearted CEO. That was something he couldn't wait to do.

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There goes another chapter. Thank you all for reading please review. I should have the next chapter up on Friday.

Angel Dove


	4. Chapter 4

Sorry about last chapter and the fast pace. The original story was suppose to stop with Jounouchi waking the next morning, but I found a way to link it into my other story that I wrote nearly a year ago and couldn't figure out what to do with it. There's going to be another two moments in this story that may act similar because I'll be combining story two with three. I'll work on that to hopefully make it better. Again, I'm sorry if it was a bumpy transition. Anyway, this chapter is going to be shorter. It's the last part of the transition before my other story originally began. Hopefully this is a bit smoother.

Thank you so much for your input, reviews and advice. I'll try to fix it.

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Chapter Four

He made it home earlier than normal, managing to get lucky with the buses that brought him home. He didn't have to wait too long. He closed the front door and moved tiredly towards the living room. Yugi and Honda were, like always, at work. He didn't bother climbing the stairs to his room. He crashed on the couch and fell asleep with his phone close by him. He didn't want to miss Kaiba's call if he happened to sleep longer than normal.

Jounouchi shut his eyes for what felt like a second before he was pulled out of his sleep by rapid pounding on the front door. He glanced at the clock, noting that he only was sleeping for an hour. Grumpily, he rose and started towards the door with every intention of screaming at the person that woke him. He pulled the door opened and stared in shock at Mokuba. "Is something wrong?"

"Is Nii-sama here?"

"No, he dropped me off and went straight home last night."

Mokuba bit his lower lip and glanced from side to side. Jounouchi pulled him inside. "He didn't come home last night. I thought maybe he stayed with you and someone took his car without him knowing."

"I went right to work. You knew that." Jounouchi sat back down on the couch while Mokuba paced. "Have you checked all the places he usually goes?"

"I did. I even traced his car. It was in a parking lot of a train station."

"Did he have an emergency at one of the other office buildings or amusement parks?"

"He wouldn't travel by train. Plus, it would be logged at his office. Nothing was there, and he's not picking up his cell."

Jounouchi rubbed his tired eyes, still not focusing completely on what Mokuba was saying. "Have you called the police or your security? Maybe they can track him."

"It's not going to work. The tracer he always wears is turned off or damaged. Jounouchi, I'm scared."

The blond yawned and started towards the door. "Let's go to the police."

Mokuba ran after him. "They won't do anything until he's missing for forty-eight hours. That's why Seto hired his own security."

"I don't know what else we can do. Is your security checking the cameras at the train station?"

"Roland is checking on a few leads and that's one of them."

"Call a press conference. Get people looking for him. If they know he's missing then they won't ignore him or someone that looks like him." Jounouchi scribbled a note for Honda and Yugi. "I'm sorry," the blond said quickly. "I haven't slept much since yesterday. I guess my mind hasn't caught up to what you said. How about if I stay with you at the mansion for awhile. He could turn up or a hospital might call if something happened to him. Then, if it is something horrible like he was kidnapped, I'll be there for you as well. Let's make sure he's not in any of the other buildings and hospitals before we jump to negative conclusions, okay?"

Mokuba nodded. "I'm sorry, Jounouchi. He's never done this before, and I didn't know who else to turn to."

"It's okay. We'll find him. Don't worry." Even to Jounouchi those small words didn't convince him. Now that everything was coming to him, he was starting to get concern. Mokuba was right. Kaiba would never do something like this.

It was difficult for Jounouchi to keep Mokuba calm. It was nearly like the time he came running to Yugi when Kaiba was trapped in the virtual world. At least they knew where he was. It didn't take long for Mokuba to call a press conference to be held outside of the mansion. Jounouchi stayed off to the side, watching the shaking young man announce Kaiba's disappearance to the world. Thankfully Roland stood next to him and helped keep the vultures from asking inappropriate questions that would upset Mokuba. After the conference, the police suddenly became involved. They put bulletins all over the place and all police officers were on high alert. Even through all the initial attempts, no one could find the missing CEO.

Jounouchi spent days at the mansion, helping Mokuba through every goose chase his security was sent on. The phone rang off the hook, but none of the tips led them to Kaiba. Days turned into weeks before anyone knew what happened. Slowly people stopped calling and the leads dried up. To Mokuba's horror, there were no signs of his brother. He spent most of his days staring out the window, praying for any sign that would lead him to Kaiba.

Jounouchi sighed as he watched the lost teen. There were too many nights like that one. He hated seeing Mokuba like that. "Mokuba, you need to do something other than stare out that window," the blond suggested even though he didn't feel like doing anything else either.

"The board members are starting to take action, Mokuba-sama," Roland said as he also tried to coax the young man away from the window. "I know it's hard, but if we do nothing, Kaiba-sama will return and his company will be gone. You're both highly intelligent, and I know he taught you nearly everything he knew. I'll be right behind you every step of the way."

The young teen sighed and moved away from the window. "What action have they taken already?"

"None, but whispers are going through the building. They want to declare Kaiba-sama as presumed dead and appoint a new CEO. Someone they decided."

"They can't!" Mokuba shouted. "I will be the only one to declare him dead."

The blond frowned. "They can overrule you since you're so young and emotionally unstable with your brother gone. Roland said that Kaiba had him declared as your guardian if something were to happen to him. If you continue to do nothing, they'll be able to say you're unfit to run the company. Even though I want to find him too, we need to start thinking about saving everything he cherished. You need to show the world that you will continue his legacy."

Roland nodded. "I agree. They may continue to push you out, but as long as you show them who runs the company we can stop the take over. I propose you go to the office tomorrow if nothing but to show all your employees that you'll be taking over."

"What about the hotline?"

"We can run it without you," Jounouchi answered. "I can stay here and call you if something vital comes."

Mokuba sighed before finally nodding. He took a few minutes to gather his thoughts before looking back at Roland. He felt his confidence returning and the passion to keep the company in their name grew inside of him. "Okay. Roland, be ready to leave early and keep an eye on what the board members are doing. I need a copy of the stock reports and any communications sent since about a week before Seto disappeared along with any currently opened projects. Bring everything up to the office." Roland bowed and moved out of the room. "Jounouchi, can you make me something to eat. I hate to say this, but your food taste better than our chef's."

The blond smiled. "Not a problem. I'll bring it up when it's ready." Jounouchi turned towards the hallway. "Make your brother proud, Kid."

"I plan on it." The two went their opposite directions. Jounouchi smiled to himself as he opened the refrigerator to find something with enough nutrients to make Mokuba. He knew the younger man could run the company well enough to make it seem like Kaiba himself was there. He sighed and stared at the empty kitchen. "Where are you, Kaiba?" Jounouchi thought as he took a skillet off the hook. Even though he appeared strong, he felt like a jigsaw of pain inside. How much longer until he felt whole again?

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I added more to this chapter than what I had originally to hopefully get it to flow more. I purposely left the press conference out only because I had another one in later and didn't want to put two press conferences in one story. The second one is more meaningful in my opinion, but you won't see that for another few chapters. Again thank you for reading please review. I'll upload again Monday morning.

Angel Dove


	5. Chapter 5

Again thank you for your reviews. This chapter is one of my favorites. I don't know why I love it so much, but it seemed to flow so easily. I guess because when I hit rock bottom like Jounouchi does, I reacted nearly the same way. I hope you all enjoy this just as much as I enjoyed writing it.

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Chapter Five

More weeks flew by with Jounouchi making meals for the exhausted Mokuba. Everything was moving the way Mokuba wanted it. Thankfully for Kaiba's genius plans, the company didn't fall to the board members but to Mokuba. He stopped every company that threatened to take over and the motions the board members made to replace him with someone older. Mokuba had new hope. He was determined to keep the company in his name in order to return it to his brother when he was found.

Jounouchi moved through the mansion he now classified as his home. He still sent money to Yugi and Honda, but his savings that he started was slowly dropping to zero. The blond frowned as he looked at the latest bank statement. He had enough money to send his monthly check to his friends for another two months. He sighed and sat down on the couch by the fireplace. His friends did tell him that they could cover him for awhile and Mokuba offered to pay him for his time spent cooking and monitoring the hotline. He denied both options. Mokuba had too much on his plate to begin with, and he couldn't ask his friends to cover for him. Pride was his undoing.

The blond sighed again. He needed to find at least a part-time job soon. That was something he had to conceder. Jounouchi was about to get up when his cellphone rang. "Hello."

"Jounouchi, it's Yugi. How are you holding up?"

"Same as last week."

"There's a letter here from your father. Do you want me to bring it to you?"

Shock and fear ran through his mind. What if his father was writing to him because he was being released soon? He couldn't ask Mokuba to allow his father to stay, and having him stay alone in his home was out of the question. But, what if he was telling him that he never wanted to see him again? Even though his father used to beat him as a child and constantly caused him stress as a teenager, he was still his father. The palms of his hands felt moist, and his heart slammed against his ribcage. Maybe it wasn't horrible news. Maybe his father wanted to thank him for helping him. Jounouchi frowned. He never heard those words being spoken by his father. His attention was drawn back to the phone by Yugi's worried voice calling his name. "Can you read it to me?" Jounouchi's soft voice cracked with the answer.

"I can bring it over and sit with you as you read it."

The thought of Yugi wasting his time over something that could be less worry than what he was making it out to be sickened Jounouchi. "No, it's okay. Just read it to me."

Jounouchi heard someone whispering to Yugi. "Atemu wants to see you. We'll come over with the letter, okay?"

Jounouchi sighed, but thought about it. Maybe it was better if someone was there. "Okay. I'll let the security know you're coming."

"We'll see you soon."

Jounouchi stared at the phone. Dread filled his senses. What if they opened the letter and noticed that he would need a friend? Could it be that bad? Knocking himself out of his thoughts, the blond walked towards the hallway. The closest communication box was in the foyer by the front door. He pressed the button and told the guards at the front gate that Yugi and Atemu were coming. Once finished, the blond walked into the living room where Mokuba still had the computers used for the hotline. The phone hadn't rang all day nor the day before. He ran his fingers over the keyboard, remembering how fast Kaiba's fingers danced across his laptop in high school. He missed Kaiba now more than a year ago when he had every opportunity to see him. They just got together, and he lost him in less than twenty-four hours.

The blond picked up the jar containing pens and tossed it across the room, hitting the wall with a loud crash. Security ran into the room, checking to see what the disturbance was. Jounouchi ignored them and clenched his fists. Why was life unfair? Why wasn't he allowed happiness? He was happy as a child with his sister, but his mother left, taking his happiness with her. He never complained about the abuse he took from his father even though it caused him to hate the world and not trust anyone. He clenched his hair and fell on the floor. What had he done that warrant him a life of misery? Was he the plague that caused Kaiba's disappearance?

Jounouchi didn't hear the security leave nor the front door being opened for his friends. He was lost in his own mind with no intention of ever surfacing. He jumped when he felt gently hands touching his shoulders. His name was softly spoken. Blinking his eyes, Jounouchi looked up into Yugi's amethyst eyes. "Yugi," he breathed. "I'm sorry. I didn't know you were here." The blond rose and moved over to the couch.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just thinking."

Yugi sat down next to Jounouchi while Atemu chose to keep standing. He was silent and didn't believe that Jounouchi was thinking. He felt the anguish coming off the blond when he walked into the room. He was starting to doubt letting Jounouchi read the letter from his father. Even though neither of them knew what the letter contained, Atemu didn't want to risk Jounouchi becoming worse. He glanced over at his lover and shook his head. Yugi sighed and held Jounouchi's hand. "Are you sure you're okay? You don't have to read this letter now. I understand that you're under a lot of stress with Kaiba being gone."

Jounouchi glanced between the two. "Did you guys read it before hand?"

"No. We didn't want to violate your privacy. We can if you want."

"No. Let me see it."

Atemu moved over to the two and sat down on the floor directly in front of Jounouchi. "No one is saying you have to do this right now. I know you were not just thinking. Did this letter bring this on?"

"I need to know what he said. If it's bad news, I need to know now."

Yugi nodded and handed over the letter. The blond stared at it for a few minutes, debating on whether he wanted to know what his father thought or would it be easier for him if he left it as a mystery. His friends did offer to read it for him and break it to him gently, but he didn't know if that would be easier. Would he believe them if it turned out to be nothing like he was dreading? Slowly he ran his finger under the flap of the envelope, unsealing the letter. He could feel his heart beating heavily in his chest, and the sounds of the letter unfolded sound like it was an exploding against his ear drums. The letter felt thick and smooth in his hands as he unfolded it.

The header on the letter was from the hospital his father was in. He licked his lips and forced his eyes further down. His name was written at the top followed by a very short paragraph. He forced the lump in his throat down as he slowly read each word as if he was trying to translate another language. A tear slowly rolled down his cheek as he read through the letter. His father didn't express gratitude for the help Jounouchi got him. He didn't tell him that he was getting out soon and couldn't wait to see his only son. He stated simply that he hated Jounouchi for what he did. He never wanted to see him again, and he blamed his entire miserable life on the ex-duelist. The blond crinkled the letter in his hand and tried to keep the strong front up. "Thank you," he whispered to Yugi. "For bring this over. If you don't mind, I would like to be alone."

Yugi frowned and placed his hand on Jounouchi's stiff shoulder. "If you need anything, don't be afraid to call." The smaller man moved off the couch slowly followed by his lover. They stopped at the doorway to the living room and watched as the blond slowly pulled his legs up on the couch. Yugi made a move to walk back in, but Atemu stopped him.

"He needs space. Judging by his reaction, Jounouchi's father will not be in his life anymore."

Yugi moved out into the hallway, whispering to his other half, "That should be more of a reason to stay. He is still suffering from Kaiba's disappearance. This could be the end for him."

Atemu put an arm around Yugi's shoulders and forced him out of Kaiba's mansion. "Jounouchi is a very private person. He does not like to let his friends see him suffer. I know you want to comfort him and show him that his life is not over, but that is not what he needs right now. He needs to deal with the information in his own way. With being alone, he could scream and cry and not be afraid of someone witnessing his moment of weakness. You know all this."

Yugi nodded and walked out of the house. "I just hope he will come to us and not do anything to hurt himself."

"I do not think you need to worry about that." Yugi took one last look at the house before walking down the long driveway, praying to the gods to help Jounouchi through this.

The blond sat very still on the couch. His father's letter was forgotten on the table beside him. Everything felt lost to him. He slowly moved over to the computer. He shut the device down and left the living room, ignoring the letter on the table. He moved into the kitchen. "Mokuba might be home soon," he thought. His body was on autopilot, grabbing things that he would need to make dinner that night. He didn't even register what time it was or remember what time Mokuba said he was coming home. He just continued to cook. Once the meal was finished, he set it down on the table in the kitchen and looked at the empty seat. He sat down opposite of the set seat as an imaginary Kaiba formed. "Does it taste good?"

"For a mutt it's not bad."

"Always with the dog comments. I'm glad you like it."

"You should cook more often. No wonder your friends never cooked on their own."

The blond chuckled. "Anytime you want to come over for dinner you can."

"Why should I go there when I can kidnap you and bring you here to make me something?"

"That's not fair to Yugi and Honda. What would they eat?"

"You said Yugi could cook but he couldn't reach anything. I'm sure they can manage it."

Jounouchi laughed, not hearing Mokuba calling his name from the front door. "They did that the night you dropped me off. I was surprised."

Mokuba was shocked to hear Jounouchi talking to someone. He ran directly into the kitchen, thinking that they finally found his brother. He was even more shocked to see Jounouchi talking to an empty chair. "Jounouchi," he called softly, but the blond didn't respond to him.

"Yeah, Honda put everything down on the table so Yugi could reach it. Yugi was so mad that I put everything out of his reach." Jounouchi paused as if listening to something. "No, he did grow a few inches. He's about the same size as Atemu."

"Roland!" Mokuba shouted. The head of security along with several men ran into the kitchen. "Something is wrong with Jounouchi. I keep calling his name, but he won't answer me."

Roland waved his men off and moved further into the kitchen, watching as Jounouchi smiled and talked with an invisible person. "Yugi and Atemu came over earlier," the taller man informed Mokuba.

"Did they say something to him that would make him react this way?"

"I don't think so."

"Sir, we found this paper on the table in the living room, and the computers have been turned off," a tall man wearing sunglasses said as he moved back into the kitchen.

Roland slowly opened the paper. He read it quickly before handing it to Mokuba. "It seems like his father disowned him. Maybe it was the last straw."

Tears formed in Mokuba's eyes as he slowly approached the blond. "Jounouchi," he called again, lying his hand down on his shoulder.

The blond seemed to be knocked out of his reality and stared up at Mokuba. "I'm glad your home, Kid. Dinner is ready."

Mokuba knelt beside him. "Are you okay? You were just talking to no one."

"What are you talking about? Your brother is..." Jounouchi stopped and glanced at the empty chair. He was shocked to see it vacant. He frowned before placing his head on the table. "I'm sorry, Mokuba," he whined. "I think I need some sleep."

"Wait, Jounouchi. Do you need to talk about this? I'm sure it must be rough having your father disown you even though you were trying to help him."

The blond shook his head. "I can't say that I didn't know this was going to happen. He refused to talk to me in the hospital. It was ridiculous for me to think otherwise."

The raven haired man wrapped his arms around Jounouchi. "I think it would be far worse to go through having parents that don't love you compared to having parents that died. I'm sorry, Jounouchi." Tears ran down his cheeks as he put his head on top of his head.

The blond wrapped his arms around Mokuba and slipped off the chair. He cried softly with the man, each with their own reason. "We'll get through this, Mokuba. We'll find your brother, and maybe, I'll be able to see my father again." Jounouchi pulled away from him and wiped the tears off Mokuba's cheeks. "You need to eat something. Kaiba would be furious if something happened to you while he was gone." The younger man nodded and moved over the chair where the food was cooling. Roland had disappeared sometime during their conversion, wanting to give them privacy. Jounouchi spent that night curled up in the same bed with Mokuba. The teenager refused to let go of the blond for fear that he would wake to him talking to an invisible person again.

They didn't talk until the next morning about what happened. If fact the only people to know what happened to Jounouchi that night was Mokuba, Roland and a few members of his security. None of them were willing to mention any of that to anyone. The days continued as they had been. Mokuba would go into the office, doing what he could to keep the company not only owned by him but to keep it running. Jounouchi would remain in the house, hoping for the phone to ring or someone to leave a message on their website that they knew where Kaiba was, but every night turned out the same. Jounouchi would make Mokuba something to eat before they would fall asleep in their own bedrooms. Each day was another day in an endless cycle of a world without Kaiba.

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I hoped you all liked it. Thank you again for reading. Please Review. The next chapter would be uploaded, as usual, on Friday.

Angel Dove


	6. Chapter 6

Thank you again for your reviews. I'm glad people like the last chapter. This one is going to be a long chapter. I had trouble finding a good stopping spot. This would be the press conference that I wanted more than the original one. Hopefully this would be a good chapter for everyone. Anyway. Onward.

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Chapter Six

Jounouchi gave up on living without a job and started looking through the classifieds. For the past month, the phone didn't ring. It was like no one was looking for Kaiba anymore. The blond sent the last of his money to his friends before going on numerous interviews. He finally landed a part-time job at the hospital talking to coma patients. It had the potential of becoming full-time and didn't require skills. He broke the news to Mokuba the same night he got the job. The younger man wasn't thrilled, but he knew Jounouchi had to get back on his feet again. He couldn't expect the blond to stay forever locked up in the mansion waiting for Kaiba's return. It was nearing Kaiba's one year anniversary and the board members were pushing more and more for a new CEO.

Finally, they got what they wanted. It became revealed through the papers that Mokuba dropped out of school and was not being home schooled. That became a violation against Roland who was his guardian. In order to keep Kaiba Corp. from being sold to the highest bidder, Mokuba agreed to step down as CEO, but he would remain the owner and president until Kaiba returned. They all agreed to make it permanent by announcing it to the world through a press conference. Mokuba shortened his time at the office and started his lessons at home afterwards. The last thing he wanted to do was to make Roland look bad, but Mokuba couldn't help but think that this ploy was brought on by the board members. He knew that his brother managed to attend school and run the company at the same time. Why couldn't he do the same? He came to the conclusion that he planned on doing one last thing, something the board members would never expect coming from him. He trusted Roland and Jounouchi with his plan. That morning Jounouchi wished Mokuba good luck and started filling out all the paperwork required for him to start his new job the next morning.

Mokuba stood in front of hundreds of flashing lights and people with microphones and recorders pointed towards him. He frowned, staring at his prepared speech sitting neatly behind his microphone. He placed his hands on the smooth wooden podium and stood tall. Even though he wasn't nearly as tall as his brother, he wanted to make sure that no one underestimated him. He cut most of his hair off recently, but it still was down to his shoulders and straighter. He moved the paper so it was in his eyesight. He knew exactly what it said even though he didn't agree with it.

Mokuba cleared his throat. "As you all know, Seto has been missing for nearly a year." The raven haired man bit his lip before starting his plan. He took the piece of paper and tore it with each satisfying rip. He placed the pieces in front of him, ignoring the board members that moved slightly closer to him. He placed his hand up in the air to still them from moving. "Even though all hope of finding Seto alive is becoming slim, I know my brother better than anyone. I know that he would continue to fight and struggle until he returned to me. He would never leave me guessing. I asked you here today to announce that I will continue his job as CEO until the day he returns. Seto was younger than me when he became CEO, and he managed to balance school and work at the same time. There should be no reason that I can't do the same. The search for my brother will continue, and I will personally keep his beloved company alive. Again if anyone has any information on my brother, please contact the hotline. Thank you," Mokuba finished, leaving the torn speech behind.

He ignored the glares of the board members and the man they wanted as CEO. Roland proudly smiled at the young man before separating him from the angry board members. He kept a firm hand on his shoulder and guided him towards the awaiting limousine. "You're brother would be proud." He stood by the door and glanced at Mokuba. "We'll find him."

Mokuba smiled. "I know we will. Take me to Kaiba Corp.," he announced to the driver while Roland shut the door.

The older man turned towards the group of men waiting for the next car to pull up. "I know it was one of you that leaked the information that Mokuba-sama hasn't been going to school. If you ever do anything else to hurt him further, no one will be able to find your bodies," he growled, still thinking they had something to do with Kaiba's disappearance. With no evidence, Roland was unable to do anything to them. It was convenient that they found someone to take over as CEO so quickly. Unless they always had someone in the background waiting for something like this to happen. Either way, Roland didn't like any of the board members at that moment. The head of security got into the next van and followed closely behind the limousine that Mokuba sat in. He will keep Mokuba safe until Kaiba returned.

The day after Mokuba's shocking press conference, Jounouchi followed closely behind the head nurse, telling him the rules of his new job. He didn't want to get a new job, but he was losing hope of ever finding Kaiba, and he no longer had any money. Honda and Yugi both agreed that he should get a new job and do something other than staying in Kaiba's mansion or walking aimlessly through Domino. The nurse waved her hands while she talked, tucking her brown hair behind her ears when it got in her eyes "The doctor believes that speaking and reading to a comatose patient will help that person return to this world. I'm not sure why he strongly believes that. We have never seen anyone wake from a long term coma in this hospital before. You will be in charge of one patient at the beginning."

The nurse grabbed the chart of Jounouchi's patient. "This man remains unidentified. He was found beside the hospital severely beaten with several broken bones six month ago. His fingertips are brunt. Even after he fully healed, we were still unable to identify him. The doctor believes he mentally put himself in a coma to protect him from whoever was abusing him and believes he would awake if he knows he's safe. The person before you tried reading several books to him and talking to him, but he never moved. We changed all the books in the room so you can choose any one of them. If he shows any signs of waking, there is a button by the bed to call the nurse on staff. No one knows what would happen when he wakes so get the nurse right away."

She stopped at the door. "You will stay with him for four hours each day and have Sundays off. If you need another day off at some point let us know. After a month, you will be assigned three people a day. You will spend two and half hours with them and a half hour lunch break. From that moment on you will be a full-time member of our staff and have Saturdays and Sundays off with the option of benefits. Don't worry if you don't make it to that point. Most people start to feel uncomfortable talking all day long to people who don't respond back. That's the main reason we start new employees off with one person. You may touch his hand, but the doctor discourages touching the patients anywhere else. Do you have any questions?"

"Is there any time that I should arrive?"

"It could be any time after ten o'clock in the morning and before nine o'clock at night. Let the staff know what time you will be arriving and leaving and make sure you write it down on your timesheet. When you're done today, they'll show you where your locker is and get your times on the schedule for the next week." The older nurse patted him on the shoulder and opened the door.

Jounouchi was first shocked by what he saw when he entered. The room was completely white and filled with several machines and a bookcase. On the bed, lied a man no older than him with long brown hair, a beard and mustache. He was extremely pale and thin. He had a sheet pulled up to his chest and both of his hands were intertwined and set gently on his stomach. The blond walked over to the bookshelf and looked at the books. There were children's books mixed in with several novels of every kind. A newspaper sat on the table by the bed.

The blond grabbed it, curious on the reviews to Mokuba's press conference. He didn't get a chance to watch television or speak to Mokuba with starting his new job. He was sure Mokuba would tell him all about it when he got home that night. He just hoped that Roland and his most trusted security would be able to keep the raven haired man safe. They all knew it was a huge risk keeping their plans secret from the board members, but at least now Mokuba announced publicly that he'll be running Kaiba Corp. It would be harder to overthrow Mokuba. Hopefully the public would back him.

He sat down on the edge of the bed, ignoring the chair that was positioned beside it, deciding to start his job. "My name is Jounouchi. The doctor says that you may be afraid to wake because you went through a traumatic event."

The blond folded the paper open and glanced up at the sleeping brunet. "I can understand wanting to remain in a fantasy world instead of reality. When I was in elementary school, my father would beat me daily during his drunken rage after my mother left us. He was depressed and unemployed. I could understand what he was going through. It must have been rough having to raise me. I was in a gang during middle school and part of high school, and balancing all the bills with no help from anyone must have been difficult. Unfortunately, I had to lock him away in a mental institution soon after he tried to commit suicide. I haven't seen him since the day I signed the papers, but from what the doctors say, he's doing well and making huge progress. My father doesn't want to see me, but I'm optimistic that I will be able to in the future. You do know you are safe, right? Someone found you, and you're in the hospital now." Jounouchi sighed and flipped towards the business section, still not getting a response from the man. "Let's see how Mokuba is doing. His brother has been missing for almost a year now."

Jounouchi missed the slight twitch on the brunet's eyebrow while he folded the paper open to the article he wanted to read. He read the headline and smiled. "I knew that kid was good. It says here that Mokuba has gain the respect of hundreds of people by taking a temporary spot as CEO until his brother returns. He hasn't given up on finding his brother. The board was forcing someone else into that spot. Mokuba said that they didn't believe he could handle the job. I'm glad that he…" Jounouchi stopped and looked up at the heart machine that gave small rapid beeps. The brunet's heart was beating faster. He put the paper down and leaned over the brunet, finally putting two and two together. "Kaiba?" Jounouchi was shocked. He knew that the man was tall and a brunet but he didn't think he could possible be his missing lover, especially since all hospitals were told to report any brunet, blue-eyed man.

The man's eyes cracked slightly open. Jounouchi gasped as he saw the small glimmer of blue. He reached over the bed and pressed the red button to summon the nurse. Kaiba groaned and moved his lips to saw something. Jounouchi placed his hand on his shoulder. He had a mix of emotions running through his system. He wanted to hug and kiss him until he was satisfied, but he was afraid of how Kaiba would react. "Easy don't try to say anything. You're going to be okay." The blond moved back slightly, running his fingers along Kaiba's arm. He couldn't believe that Kaiba would wake to his voice or the mention of Mokuba's name. Kaiba wasn't the type of person to remain locked away in his mind, fearing the people that hurt him. Jounouchi held the brunet's hand tightly. What if the doctors had something to do with keeping him in a coma?

A blonde nurse walked in a few minutes later. She gasped. "He's awake. I'll page the doctor right away. Stay with him and keep him calm." She glanced up at the machines before running back down the hallway.

Jounouchi sat back down on the edge of the bed. He could barely see Kaiba's eyes following his every move. The doctor came in quickly and moved right over to Kaiba. "I'm sorry, sir, but you will have to wait outside. I need to exam the John Doe."

"His name is Seto Kaiba."

The doctor looked back at him. "And how do you know that?"

"He responded to his name and Mokuba's name. He has bright blue eyes and brown hair. How could you not link it up? Your hospital was supposed to report someone that fit Kaiba's description to the hotline. How am I to know you aren't part of the reason he wasn't found. I'm not leaving him alone with anyone. He's been missing for a year now. He was here for several months, and you didn't think to contact Mokuba. The nurse said they burnt his fingers and beat his face so severely that he was unrecognizable. Why wouldn't you think that it could be Kaiba and the people were trying to keep him hidden? You won't do anything to him without prior approval by Mokuba. If you have a problem with that, I'll get his brother one the phone right away."

Jounouchi stopped his ranting at hearing his name being whispered. He glanced down at Kaiba. "Mokuba," he whispered more.

The blond nodded and moved away from the bed. "I'll be right over there calling Mokuba." Jounouchi pulled out his phone and searched through the listings finding Mokuba's number. He cursed when it when straight to voicemail which was rare. Mokuba never turned his phone off unless he was meeting with someone serious, but he called Jounouchi prior to when that was happening. He glanced at Kaiba who was struggling with the doctor like he wanted to tell Jounouchi something. The doctor told him countless times to relax, but the brunet wasn't having it. "Wait," Jounouchi shouted when the graying haired doctor ordered the nurse to give him a sedative.

The doctor growled in frustration. "I told you that I need to examine him," he hissed.

"Kaiba clearly has something to say." Jounouchi pushed the doctor away. "He's not dying, right? You can give him a few seconds to say whatever he needs to say." Jounouchi leaned down close to Kaiba so he could hear his whispered words.

"Don't leave me with him."

The blond leaned up and looked at him in his eyes. "I wasn't planning on it. Mokuba's cell went right to voicemail. I'll have to try again later." Jounouchi leaned in closer. He dialed the number Kaiba whispered to him. "Relax; I won't let anyone near you." Jounouchi sat on the edge of the bed, listening to the ringing phone. "You need to leave. He doesn't want you near him and I would do as he says." The doctor glared at him and was about to say something, but Jounouchi turned his attention to the phone.

Finally after numerous rings, Mokuba's tired voice came on the phone. "Who is this?"

"It's Jounouchi."

"How did you get this number? Only Seto knows this number," Mokuba trailed off. "You found him!"

Jounouchi moved off the bed slightly and stood by the top of Kaiba's bed "He's one of the patients in Domino General Hospital. They said he was found unconscious. He's been in a coma ever since. Hold on a second," Jounouchi said quickly, noticing that the doctor had pulled out a syringe from his pocket. "Hey! I told you to do nothing."

The doctor stopped what he was doing. "You can't call the shots for someone that isn't your family member."

"And what do you call him moving away from the needle as? He doesn't trust you."

"Again, you are not next of kin, you can't call the shots and neither can Kaiba-sama since he's been through a traumatic event and just woke up."

"Jounouchi, give the phone to the doctor," Mokuba said firmly, overhearing the debate in the room.

The blond walked over to the doctor. "Here, the next of kin wants to speak with you."

The doctor took the phone and held it up to his ear. "Do what Jounouchi says? Don't give my brother anything unless he's dying. I will be there in less than a half hour with his personal doctor. I suggest you leave the room or else you'll be facing more than just a hearing at not properly reporting finding a John Doe meeting Kaiba's description," Mokuba growled. "Now hand the phone back to Jounouchi."

He passed the phone back, visibly shaking now. "He's on the fifth floor room 516. Make sure you have Roland with you. I won't leave his side. I promise."

"Thank you, Jounouchi."

The blond hung up the phone and watched the doctor walking towards the door. He glared at Jounouchi. "Call if you need anything. I will be reporting that I did not agree with your decision."

"Do what you must, but it won't be me that comes out looking like an enemy. You were the one that didn't report him to the proper authorities." The doctor growled and left the room quickly with the nurse right behind him. Jounouchi sat on the edge of the bed and smiled gently at Kaiba.

"Mokuba's on his way." He ran his fingers along Kaiba's cheek.

Kaiba moved his hand slowly and held Jounouchi's hand. The blond could feel how weak the taller man was. "I missed you."

"I missed you, too. Your brother is doing well and you'll be proud of him."

Jounouchi was cut off from saying more by the door slamming open, and a hooded figure came into the room holding a gun. The blond didn't have a moment to think, his body was moving on autopilot, fearing that this man was going to kill Kaiba. He refused to lose him so soon after he got Kaiba back. No one was going to steal his happiness now that he found it. He grabbed the newspaper off the bed and threw it at the man. The pages scattered about, blocking the killer's view long enough for him to move off the bed. He tackled the man, grabbing his hand with the gun. He heard Kaiba shouting his name, but he couldn't stop himself. He was furious that the whole world seemed out to kill Kaiba. He knocked the gun out of the man's hand, but the killer turned his fist and smashed it into Jounouchi's face, blinding him with tears.

He kicked him in the stomach and moved towards where the gun slid. Jounouchi recovered quickly and grabbed the man's foot. The killer's body slammed hard on the ground, but he managed to retrieve the gun. He turned it quickly and shot the moving blond in the shoulder. Jounouchi hissed and held his shoulder, feeling some of the fight leave him. The killer turned the gun on the brunet who was struggling to get his weak limbs to move in order to protect himself and his lover. Jounouchi rose and threw his aching body over the brunet in time to feel another burning bullet lodging itself into his back. The killer cursed at wasting another bullet on the blond. He was running out of time and needed to hit his target.

Kaiba stared up at the blond's clenched eyes. He saw the blood dripping off his body and onto him and the bed. He looked up and saw the hooded man grab Jounouchi in order to move him, but within a second he was gone and a loud bang of someone hitting the floor followed. "Kaiba-sama!" Roland yelled. He was shocked that in a half hour someone was already sent to kill Kaiba.

"Get a doctor!" Kaiba tried to shout, but it came out as a mere whisper.

Mokuba ran over to his brother, too concerned about what was happening to register that his brother was barely able to speak. "Are you hurt, Nii-sama?"

"No. Help me move so we can get Jounouchi to lie on the bed. My arms and legs feel like they weigh a ton."

Mokuba pulled Kaiba until he was on his side at the other end of the bed. He moved the groaning blond on his stomach. "Flip him on the shoulder that doesn't have the wound." The raven haired man did as his brother said just as their personal doctor ran into the room.

Roland ran into the room after the doctor followed closely by Kaiba's personal security. The older male doctor replaced his hands with Kaiba's. "Get a gurney. We need to move him down to ER. Get those IV's out of Kaiba-sama, and we'll replace them with new ones once you get him down to ER as well. Kaiba-sama, does anything hurt?"

"My legs feel like their asleep. The shooter didn't hit me. Just help, Jounouchi."

The man nodded. "Get a gurney for Kaiba-sama." The doctor moved slightly when the gurney came beside him. With the help of several people, they not only got Jounouchi into a different bed, but Kaiba situated as well. The doctor climbed onto the gurney, putting all his weight on his knees while he kept pressure on the two bullet wounds. They were moving quickly through the hallways, followed closely behind Roland and another security guard pushing Kaiba with Mokuba behind them. Roland left a few of his guards at the room to help with the investigation and secure their captive while a few went with them to stand guard in the ER.

The staff moved quickly around Jounouchi and Kaiba, focusing more on Jounouchi. One nurse replaced the IV's in Kaiba's arm while attaching a new drip to help with the pain and discomfort. Within an hour or two, Kaiba was not sure how long they were in the ER, the doctor managed to remove both bullets and stop the bleeding. Thankfully neither bullet caused severe damage. They were now both in their own recovery room. Kaiba now sat in a wheelchair, refusing to be far from Jounouchi. Mokuba slept in the bed that they struggled to keep Kaiba in. Three guards now stood outside of the room, one being Roland.

Mokuba mumbled something in his sleep and rolled over. Kaiba smiled and ran his fingers down his back that now faced him. He wondered how much sleep his younger brother got while he was gone. Thankfully he didn't look like death walked over him. Then, he wondered how long it had been. He could have sworn that Mokuba wasn't that tall when he last saw him or his hair that short. Kaiba turned his gaze back to the pale blond on the bed. Jounouchi was sleeping peacefully now. He couldn't believe how quickly the blond moved to save their lives. It was like his survival instinct silenced his rational mind.

Kaiba stood shakily away from his chair, keeping a firm grip on the chair. It had been a half hour since he last walked around the room. He was grateful that his limbs were starting to get some of their old strength back in them. He knew he was a long way from being fully recovered, but he was happy to have the opportunity. He paced over to the bed Mokuba laid on; putting most of his weight on the cane the nurses gave him. He tucked his brother back in, kissing him on the forehead. He pulled the machine still attached to him over to the window and glanced out at the sunny sky. The world seemed to be moving quickly through the day. He didn't linger by the window too long for fear that someone would hire a sniper to kill all of them. He shut the blinds and moved over towards the doorway where Roland stood firmly in the middle. "Have you figured out who is behind this?"

Roland sighed softly. "No. The police are questioning the man and the doctor right at this moment." Roland turned around to face his employer. "They'll want to talk to you as well, but I told them that if they bothered you now, you'll unleash all your pent up fury on them."

Kaiba smirked. "You know me too well."

"Everyone knows not to bother you when you have that look in your eyes," he heard someone quietly mumble.

Roland bowed before turning back around. Kaiba moved over to the now awake blond. "How are you feeling?"

"Like a train ran over me five times followed by a bus."

Kaiba shook his head and chuckled. "Leave it to you to make a joke when you nearly died. What went through your head?"

"Someone was trying to take you away from me again."

Kaiba sat gently back down in the chair, feeling fatigue washing over him. He smiled softly to the blond. "Don't ever do that again. I don't want to be the one to lose you."

"Don't you ever be careless enough to get kidnapped again. I don't ever want to go through that again and I'm sure Mokuba doesn't either." Jounouchi hissed, closing his eyes when a shot of pain ran through him.

"I'm sorry. Do you need something for the pain?"

"No. It burns. I should be fine," Jounouchi lied before changing the subject. "You do know you'll have to tell at least Mokuba what happened to you."

Kaiba moved up and sat on the edge of Jounouchi's bed. "I will tell both of you. Didn't we establish before all this happens that I want to be your lover? What lover hides something like this?" The brunet leaned down and kissed Jounouchi.

The blond responded, using his good arm to run his fingers through Kaiba's still long hair. "How long have I been out?"

"Not long, why?"

"You shaved and seem to be moving easily."

"I'm still stiff, but I'm working through it, and the beard was itchy so I had Roland help me shave it off."

Jounouchi shifted on his bed to let the CEO to lie down. "Good. I didn't want to be unconscious for too long."

Kaiba took the hint and lied down next to Jounouchi, wrapping one of his arms over the blond's stomach. "How long have I been gone?"

"Nearly a year."

The brunet stared in shock. "No wonder Mokuba looks older and taller."

Jounouchi placed his hand over Kaiba's. "Don't be blaming yourself. You were not the cause all this. How about if we rest and talk about this later? You look exhausted, and I can feel the pain relievers pulling me into slumber land."

Kaiba smiled, missing the humorous blond. "I was planning on it. I don't want to talk about it in the hospital." The brunet kissed Jounouchi before settling himself down to sleep. "Thank you, Jounouchi, for everything. Good night."

"Anything for you." The blond was the first to fall asleep with his arm protectively wrapped around Kaiba. Even in his subconscious mind, he refused to let anyone take Kaiba away from him again.

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I hope everyone like that chapter. There is still a quite bit before the end of the story so don't worry. There's still plenty more to come. I'll upload again on Monday. Thank you for reading please review.

Angel Dove


	7. Chapter 7

Thank you again for your kind reviews. This is another one of those transition chapters between my original second short story to the third. I spent a lot of time on it so hopefully it will seem better than the last time I tied my stories together.

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Chapter Seven

It took several days for the doctors to agree to release Jounouchi even though the blond was showing remarkable healing. The entire time, Kaiba and Mokuba refused to leave the heavily guarded room. None of the three wanted to be away from the other. Jounouchi's friends visited him during the afternoon after they got off from work. Kaiba would move about the room, attempting to gain strength back in his legs and arms. Everything seemed to be returned to the time before Kaiba disappeared except for the fact that Kaiba seemed more distant. Jounouchi never questioned. He gave the CEO as much space as he needed. Roland kept not only the press but the police away from all three men. He didn't want their recovery to be stunted by stress.

Jounouchi sat up in his bed, staring at the night sky. He was excited about being released the next day and could barely sleep. He was bored at seeing the same walls and yearned to be free of his prison. Pain still spiked from the bullet wounds but must of the time it was a dull ache. He rolled his head to the side and looked at Kaiba who slept in his own bed. For the past several days the brunet showed more patience than Jounouchi ever saw coming from the man. Kaiba never yelled or pushed the nurses and doctors into releasing them. In fact, the CEO was far more silent than he was in the past. The silence bothered Jounouchi. He wondered what happened to his lover and feared the psychological damage even though Kaiba barely showed it. The blond silently hoped that when they arrived at home that Kaiba would open up to him. He didn't want the brunet burying everything as if it didn't happen.

Hours slipped by while Jounouchi stayed within his thoughts. The nurses came and went throughout the night, not disturbing the two Kaibas as they slept. Finally it was time for their release. Jounouchi and Kaiba were handed several papers to sign and read through. The brunet was barely awake appearing to need a shot of caffeine or a cup of coffee. He didn't speak to anyone beside the grunt he made when Mokuba wished him a good morning.

The first time that Kaiba spoke was in the back of their limousine. "Roland informed me that the police will be waiting at the mansion to take our statements. If either of you are not ready we can delay them."

"I would think you would be the one to need more time," Jounouchi answered. "You haven't spoken about it at all and want to ignore everything that happened. Or, are you trying to hide it for our sakes?"

Kaiba glared at Jounouchi. "Neither. I didn't think it was an appropriate time to talk about it while we were healing. Don't jump to conclusions. It'll take more than someone torturing me to break me."

The blond stared at him. It still seemed like Kaiba was hiding his feelings. Deep down Jounouchi wondered if Kaiba was hiding it from himself. He sighed and placed his hands in his lap. "Okay, but don't forget that we are both here to help you."

The CEO calmed instantly. He didn't want to take anything out on the blond when he was only trying to help. "Thanks, I'll keep that in mind," he said.

Mokuba moved closer to Kaiba. "Nii-sama, Jounouchi is right. You don't have to be strong for our sake, and if things are too much, we can get you help."

The brunet melted more into the seat. "If it makes you two calm down, I'll let you stay in the same room with me when I give my statement to the police."

Jounouchi rolled his eyes. "We were planning on staying in the room anyhow so you didn't have to tell your story twice." He slid closer to Kaiba and wrapped his arms around his lover's stiff shoulders. "I would like to say I know you pretty well, but Mokuba knows you better. We can see that you're stressed and want to get this over with as quickly as possible. Clearly they did something to you that you want to hide."

"I'm not saying that it wasn't painful. I survived. I won."

"This isn't a game, Kaiba! It takes a lot of gusts to stand up after everything that they did to you, but it's not a game with winners and losers. You may think you are alright and this wasn't a big deal, but something is defiantly off about you. Even though you know I accepted you as a lover, you still refused to be in the same bed as me except for that one night. You barely hug Mokuba, but I seemed to remember you always touching him before you disappeared. You don't like the nurses helping you or touching you. I don't see fear in your eyes, but I also don't see that soft gaze you used to have whenever you looked at Mokuba. You also didn't harass the doctors and nurses about letting you out of the hospital, and you never suggested that they release us so your private doctor could help us at home. You could easily protect everyone from the press and police from your mansion, but somehow, you don't seem to fight anymore. You go along with anything anyone says. I bet that Roland wanted to keep the police away for another day, but since they've been getting pushy lately, you caved."

"That's enough!" Kaiba hissed. "What right do you have to preach to me about how I have changed? You don't know me that well. You said that yourself." The limousine stopped and within a second the door was opened. "Let's get this over with so you can return to your life, Jounouchi. I appreciate you taking care of Mokuba while I was gone, but I'm back now. There is no reason for you to stay. I'll arrange for a ride to take you home after we finish talking to the police." The brunet got out of the car and left the two stunned people.

"Jounouchi."

"Don't. It's okay. He's angry and has a right to be. I shouldn't have cornered him like that." Jounouchi ruffled the smaller man's hair. "I'll just leave after we make our statements and stay away for a few days. He may need to adjust. I'll keep in touch though."

Mokuba nodded before moving out of the limousine and into the house with Jounouchi close behind them. When they entered the living room, Kaiba was already seated among several uniformed police officers and two other people that looked like they could be detectives. He was sipping from a cup and looked completely relaxed compared to how he was a few moments ago. Wordlessly the two sat down in the only two seats remaining. Mokuba chose the one closest to his brother upon seeing Jounouchi's reluctance to choose that seat. "You may begin," Kaiba spoke evenly.

"Did you get a good look at the people that did this to you?" The lead detective said, opening his notebook while the other detective did the same. He brushed his long black hair out of his black eyes.

"No. They kept me in a dark room and kept their faces hidden behind sunglasses or hoods with masks."

"Could you recognize voices if we found any suspects?"

"Probably, but they were just the ones sent to torture me. I know someone else was behind it. He or she never came to the room or spoke to me."

"Start at the beginning and try to give us as much details as possible."

"It was the same day that I dropped Jounouchi-san off at his house. I was driving home, planning on taking Mokuba out for dinner when three large vans boxed me in at an intersection that was deserted. Everything happened quickly. They ripped the driver side door open almost breaking the door and pulled me out, tossing me in the back of the van next to me. I heard something metal which sounded like a tow-truck attach to my car before the van I was in sped off. I don't know where we went or how long I was in that car. A man climbed from the front to the back, wearing a ridiculous looking werewolf mask. He grabbed me, but I wasn't planning on making it easy for them. I fought until someone else grabbed me from behind, pulling my arms behind my back. They put a wet rag over my mouth, and I black out."

Kaiba placed the cup on the table, ignoring everyone around him as he continued his story. "When I came to, I was alone in that dark room for several minutes. They came soon after, asking me for the security codes to Kaiba Corp. They wanted access to all my files. I refused. No matter what they did to me, I never gave them the codes. I don't know why they would want them, but if I gave it up, that could mean the end to Kaiba Corp. I wasn't going to let something like happen to my company. They kept asking and torturing me until they realized that I wasn't giving in. They threatened to bring Mokuba to me, but I told him that with them kidnapping me, they could never get to Mokuba. I guess they found that out on their own." Kaiba stopped, seeming to not want to go on with the story.

"How many men were there?"

"Four different voices. There could have been more, but that's all who came into that room."

"Can you give us details on what they did to you during the questioning?"

"You don't need that. The medical reports have a listing of all my injuries. You can read through those."

The detective didn't seem to like that answer. Jounouchi glanced at Kaiba. He was still refusing to talk about what happened. "Fine, we'll move on. When did they burn your fingertips and why?"

"After noticing I was going to give them nothing, they planned on leaving me somewhere to die and didn't want anyone to identify me. Someone dumped me in an alleyway beside a hospital. I could hear the ambulances coming and going. I tried to crawl my way to it, but I lost consciousness before I could get far. I woke once in the hospital, but the doctor that was in the room wasn't someone to trust. He told me that he was going to keep me in a coma until I cooperated. I don't know how much time went by, but he kept waking me only to ask me the same questions. I still refused."

"The doctor said the same thing, but he refuses to tell us who he's working for. From what we can tell, someone has been depositing money into his account every month, but it comes from different sources and can't be traced back."

Kaiba's eyes narrowed. "I wouldn't expect him to say anything or you to find anything that would lead you to whoever is behind this. I'm sure who that person is has the capability of killing the doctor no matter where you hide him. They had enough sense and power to keep me hidden for a year. Anyway, let me continue so you can get on with your investigation. Through the haze I heard a familiar voice talking to me one day. I don't know how I did it, but I managed to wake up while Jounouchi-san was visiting me. He kept the doctor away from me and got help, but not before that assassin came into the room and shot him twice. After that, you all know what happened."

The onyx haired detective sighed. He was hoping to get more details out of Kaiba, but judging by the way the CEO talked, that was as far as they were getting for that moment. "Thank you, Kaiba-sama. We'll turn to Jounouchi-san next. Can you tell me if you noticed anyone following Kaiba-sama's car after he dropped you off?"

"No. There was no one on my street at the time. After I saw his car turn the corner, I went into the house. I didn't know he was missing until Mokuba came knocking on my door. He asked me if Kaiba stayed here that night. I told him no. We went to the police to file a missing person report and then started a press conference announcing that Kaiba was missing. From there, I spent all my time at this mansion, operating the hotline and relaying all the information to Kaiba's private security. For the first few months we were busy with tips of Kaiba's whereabouts, but none of them came back with any results."

"How did you know where to find Kaiba-sama?"

"I didn't. My savings account ran out so I knew I had to get a job in order to keep sending rent to my friends who I live with. It was suppose to be a simple experimental job that the doctor was trying. He believed by reading and talking to coma patients, you could some how draw them out of the coma. The nurses didn't believe it could happen and even went to say that they had never saw someone waking from that ward. Kaiba was my first person. I didn't know it was him nor did the nurses. I started talking about myself and Mokuba, and finally, he opened his eyes. That's when I realized who he was. I accused the doctor of not reporting a John Doe properly and Kaiba seemed to not like him. I refused to let the doctor give him anything and kept everyone away from Kaiba until Mokuba, Roland and Kaiba's private doctor came."

Jounouchi clenched his fists thinking about everything that happened. "While I waited there with Kaiba, the door suddenly opened and there was this tall hooded man with a gun. I didn't know what came over me. I threw the newspaper that I had been reading to Kaiba while he was in that coma at the man, blocking his shot. I wrestled with him, knocking the gun out of his hand. He managed to get the gun and shot me in the shoulder before turning towards Kaiba. I moved without thinking and blocked the shot with my body. I felt something hot in my back before I blacked out. The next thing I remember is waking in a different room with Kaiba next to me."

The detective nodded. "That man is refusing to talk and a lawyer was already sent for him. He's actually a hired hit-man with no ties to any crime lords. We recognized him right away from his wanted pictures. It'll be much harder to find the criminal mind behind all of this. He knows the system, but I can assure you that you won't be seeing him again. Thank you, Jounouchi-san. Mokuba-san, during the entire time your bother was gone, did you see anything or anyone suspicious around your employees?"

Mokuba shook his head. "If they were connected to my brother's disappearance, they were not apart of Kaiba Corp. The first thing we did was question everyone with a polygraph test. Everyone passed including the board members who wanted nothing but to replace me after Seto's disappearance. Whoever is behind this was someone that was a business rival or someone that wanted to destroy Kaiba Corp."

"Prior to Kaiba-sama's disappearance, did you notice anything strange around your house."

"No. Usually if there is someone that keeps appearing or a suspicious car, Roland is notified, and they put a stop to it or watch it more closely, but nothing like that was around."

"The day your brother disappeared, what did you do?"

"At first I thought he went to the office or decided to stay with Jounouchi even though he said he was coming right back. Seto would do that sometimes if there was an emergency at the office. If he wasn't going to return that night, he would call me and let me know where he was. I didn't realize he was missing until the next morning. I tried calling his cellphone and even traced his car. That's when we found the car in the parking lot of a train station and his cellphone went right to voicemail. I went to Kaiba Corp. to check his office, but they said they hadn't seen him. I checked all the messages, wondering if he might have had an emergency at one of the Kaibalands, but nothing was in the records, plus he wouldn't use a train to get anywhere. After I checked all the leads, I went to see Jounouchi, but Seto wasn't there either. Jounouchi helped me through filing a police report and getting a press conference together. In fact it was his idea to let the public know Seto was missing. He said it would be better if people were looking for him instead of ignoring someone that may have looked like Seto."

Mokuba ran his slightly sweating hands together. "I asked Jounouchi to stay with me at the mansion and help me run the hotline. At first, we ran it together, but after a few weeks it was decided that I had to run the company. Roland informed me that the board members were starting to make motions to have me replaced as acting CEO. I foiled all their plans and fully took my brother's spot as CEO. After that they continued to push to replace me, but it was denied the whole time."

"Do you think they could be responsible for Kaiba-sama's disappearance?"

"I already told you they passed the polygraph. Plus, they wouldn't need his security codes to access his reports in order to take over. They had copies of everything and could make motions, but didn't have the say so unless the CEO said it was okay. If the board members were responsible, I think they would force him to sign over his rights as CEO or kill both him and me."

"What were you doing the day that Jounouchi-san called you to inform you that he found Kaiba-sama?"

"When he first called, I was in another board meeting. I sent his call directly to voice mail because they were accusing me of being distracted all the time. When he called the second time, I was in Seto's office and the phone that rang was his private extension. Only Seto and I know that number. At first I thought it could have been Seto, but I didn't recognize the voice at first. When I knew it was Jounouchi's voice, I knew that he found Seto. I could hear him fighting to keep the doctor and nurses away from Seto so I asked him to hand the phone over to the doctor. I ordered him to leave the room and do whatever Jounouchi asked. After hanging up with Jounouchi, I called our private doctor and had him in route to the hospital before I called Roland. We arrived at the same time and were on our way to Seto's room when we heard the gunshot. Roland tried to order me to stay put, but I didn't listen. I was afraid that I lost my brother permanently this time. Roland managed to knock the guy out and had him escorted from the room.

After that, the doctor ran in and Seto ordered everyone to not focus on him but on Jounouchi. It took them several hours to repair the damage done by the bullets, but they said thankfully the bullets didn't hit anything vital. The doctors expected Jounouchi to make a full recovery. They also said that Seto would be fine as well. The drug that the doctor was giving him to keep him in a coma was completely out of his system and there shouldn't be any side affects. From the moment that we were all put in the recovery room, Roland positioned several men as security around it as well as placing them on the nearby rooftops to ensure no one would shot through the window."

"Thank you, Mokuba-san. Kaiba-sama, I would like to question Roland and the other members of your staff here as well as your security, but you don't need to be presented while I do that. Will all of you be at this place if I need to ask additional questions?"

"If I'm not here I'll be at my office. Even though I know Mokuba must have done a wonderful job while I was gone, I need to assert myself back into my company. Jounouchi-san will be at his home. I'm sure you'll be able to get in contact with him there, right?" Kaiba asked, finally moving his gaze over to Jounouchi.

The blond frowned before nodding. He wondered if he ruined their relationship with the way Kaiba was addressing him so formally. He sighed softly, knowing that Kaiba must need a lot more space than he originally thought. Maybe in a few days or a week, he could try talking to him again. Jounouchi didn't react to Kaiba dismissing everyone out of the room, nor did he object to Kaiba walking him to the door. He took one last glance at Kaiba's hollow and distant eyes before getting into the car driven by Roland. They weren't like that before "I messed up," he mumbled to himself not expecting any response.

"No you didn't. Kaiba-sama has always been difficult to read, but I think he's afraid of you right now. You saw right through him. Right now he needs to be strong and show not only his employees but the world that nothing affects him. He's afraid that his strong front will fail if he's around you. Once everything has calmed down and life returns to normal, I'm sure you'll be able to speak with him again. He does care for you nearly or maybe more than you care for him. I saw the love and concern in his eyes when he watched over you in the hospital. So, please be patient with him. Don't take anything he says seriously until he's had time to think through everything."

Jounouchi stared in shock. "Thank you," he whispered, happy to have some reassurance. He saw that he was back at home and didn't remember every getting there so quickly. "Protect him for me."

Roland smiled. "I will. We'll be in touch."

Jounouchi nodded and got out of the car. He walked up the stairs to his house and watched as Roland disappeared around the corner, feeling a strange sense of deja vu. He frowned, wishing it was Kaiba who dropped him off just like last time and they could erase that horrible year. He quietly put the key in his door and walked in, knowing that Yugi and Honda wouldn't be home for another couple hours. He locked the door and lied down on the couch, covering his eyes with his arms. He fought the tears that threatened to fall. Even though Roland's explanation made sense, it still didn't quail the fear in Jounouchi's mind. He had a chance to finally be happy with Kaiba, and he goes and calls the man he loves a coward.

A small tear slid down the side of Jounouchi's cheek, dripping off his ear, before melting into the cushion below him. He closed his eyes, realizing that he left his pain relievers in Kaiba's limousine. He clenched his shirt directly above his heart, wondering if any medication would be strong enough to rid him of the pain in his chest. Staring at the ceiling while various thoughts ran through his mind, Jounouchi hadn't noticed that his eyes slowly shut, pulling him into the dream world.

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I hope that was okay. I know this leaves a lot of questions in the air but don't worry. Everything will clear up the further this story goes. Thanks again for reading please review.

Angel Dove


	8. Chapter 8

Thank you again for your kind reviews. This chapter isn't as long as the last one, but I still hope you enjoy it.

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Chapter Eight

Yugi and Honda arrived several hours later with their arms full of bags of groceries. They didn't expect Jounouchi to be home and completely ignored the sleeping presence in the living room until Yugi walked in to turn the computer on. He gasped in shock, seeing Jounouchi passed out on the couch. At first, he thought something happened to the blond. "Honda!" Yugi shouted quickly walking over to the couch.

"What is it?" Honda asked running into the room.

The entire disturbance woke Jounouchi who shot up from the couch. He winced from the sudden movement. Calming down, he glanced at his friends. "Don't do that. You scared me half to death."

"We didn't expect you to be home, and I thought something was wrong with you passed out there. You never used to sleep on the couch. What happened?" Yugi quickly spoke, using the now free space on the couch to sit down.

"It's a long story."

"You don't want to stay with Kaiba," Honda asked, sitting on the floor in front of his two friends.

"I upset Kaiba, and he told me to go home. I was trying to help him, but he took it the wrong way."

Honda growled. "Nice way of showing his appreciation."

Jounouchi waved his hands in the air. "It's not like that. He said it nicely and even thanked me for everything I did. I believe, like Roland, he needs time to think things through."

Yugi shifted in the seat, pulling his legs completely up on the couch. "Is he not talking about it?"

"Not with his emotions. I sat with him while he told his story. It was like he was reading something from a book. No word on if he was in extreme pain or if he feared for his life. He showed more emotion the first five minutes when he came out of the coma than now. I told him that he didn't have to be strong just for Mokuba and my benefits. That upset him. I can understand why, but I thought I could get him to talk. He's obviously not ready."

"I'm sure it was difficult for him especially since he usually has to be in control of everything. I agree with giving him a few days. Enough about him. Are you in pain?"

"I'm still in a little bit of pain but not much. I left my pain relievers in Kaiba's limousine. Do we have any here?"

Honda rose. "There's some upstairs. Rest here. I'll get them while Yugi starts dinner. It's good to see you home again."

Yugi smiled brightly. "I can wake you when dinner is ready if you want to rest more."

"Thanks, Yugi, I think I will." Jounouchi moved back down the couch and curled up. His wounds ached, and he still felt extremely tired. He easily fell back to sleep, not hearing Honda placing the bottle of pain relievers on the table next to him nor Yugi typing to Atemu while he made dinner.

Days went by and Jounouchi found that he was bored and anguished. He hadn't heard a word from Kaiba or Mokuba and he feared that he never would. His attempt to find a new job was slow. He would become distract as he glanced through the classifieds, only to realize that he spent hours thinking about Kaiba or staring at nothing by the wall. By doctor's orders he wasn't permitted to work for another week, but that didn't mean he couldn't go on interviews. Each job he applied for resulted in either them never contacting him or an interview was scheduled. Out of all the interviews he found that he didn't like any of the jobs. He sighed in frustration trying to pull him out of his pity party. There was no reason for him to be depressed. Kaiba never told him that he thought they should end their relationship. However, he didn't say they should continue.

The blond frowned and stared at the newspaper in front of him. There were no jobs he qualified for or paid enough. He was becoming desperate enough to go back to his old jobs and beg them to rehire him. He knew that he just stopped showing up, but it was only because Kaiba disappeared. Not that they would believe he was Kaiba's lover or friend. He didn't even know himself what they were. Everything seemed lost ever since they left the hospital. Kaiba showed no signs that he still cared for Jounouchi. Maybe it was time to move on. Jounouchi clenched his shirt. The thought caused pain to radiate from his heart. He didn't want this to be over. He spent a year struggling to find him only to lose him again.

The ex-duelist moved into the kitchen to start dinner. That was the only thing he was good for; making dinner and cleaning the house. He just finished placing everything he needed on the counter when a knock came at the door. His heart went into his throat. Could this be Kaiba finally coming to see him? The person knocked again before he made it to the front door. He opened it, revealing Mokuba. "Please don't tell me that he's missing again."

"No, but I've come to ask you to talk to him." Jounouchi opened the door further and lead the younger man into the living room. "Ever since you left he hasn't slept much. He barely eats and spends most of the day at the office only to come home and work some more. I know for a fact that I have been doing things his way and had everything caught up. There shouldn't be any reason for that much time spent at work."

"Have you talked to him?"

"Briefly, he won't listen to me. I tried to ask him to go see a psychologist, but he refuses. Can you try to talk to him?"

Jounouchi frowned. "I don't know if he wants me around."

"He still loves you. Sometimes I watch him through the surveillance cameras while he's at the office. He would stare out the window and a few times I watched him dial your number on the phone, but he ends the call before it could fully connect. He wants to talk to you, but I think he's afraid. Please, Jounouchi. He's at home now because I asked him to stay there today."

The blond thought for a little bit before agreeing. "Okay. I'll come with you. Just let me change, put dinner away and leave Yugi and Honda a note. Relax. I'm sure Kaiba is going to be okay."

The two rode quietly in the car. Jounouchi wasn't sure whether this was a good idea or not. He did want to see Kaiba again but that horrible fear that plagued him lately remained nestled in his gut. He glanced over at Mokuba. The raven haired man appeared young again. The worry etched on his face reminded him of a year ago. How much longer until they got the real Kaiba back and their fears would be erased? Jounouchi quickly got out of the car when they arrived, knowing that if he thought about everything he wouldn't see Kaiba. Mokuba ran after him, not bothering to tell him where Kaiba was. The blond knew the location of the office and didn't expect the workaholic to be anywhere else.

He reached the end of the second floor hallway. He stood directly outside, catching his breath from the fast pace. He closed his eyes and knocked once before entering the room, signaling to Mokuba to remain outside. "Mokie, I have a lot of things to do," Kaiba said without looking up from the large stack of papers in front of him.

"I can see that."

Kaiba dropped his pen and glanced up at the blond. "What are you doing here?"

"That's a cruel way of addressing someone that you confessed your love to."

Kaiba leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. "I'm very busy, Jounouchi."

The blond silently took several deep breaths. His hands were shaking. He didn't want to make the wrong move or say something that would break the delicate connection they still had. "Mokuba came and got me. He says you haven't been sleeping and you barely eat. He's worried about you and so am I. I can clearly see the damage you're doing to yourself. You didn't have those dark circles when I left, and you look like you lost the weight you should have been gaining." Jounouchi sat down in the chair opposite of Kaiba. "Can we talk?"

The CEO sighed. "I don't have time right this second. It would be better if you made an appointment."

Jounouchi bowed his head. "Is this where we're going? Am I nothing but another person to you? I thought you loved me. I love you. What happened to wanting to go on dates together?"

Kaiba glanced at the heart broken expression on Jounouchi's face. He vowed to not get the blond involved in his life again. He didn't want him to ever go through the pain he must have experienced while he was gone. It was best if Jounouchi hated him. However, the CEO couldn't do that. His own heart ached to pull the blond close. Before he knew it, Jounouchi had him turned in his chair and enclosed in his warmth. Kaiba frowned but wrapped his arms around him. "I don't want to cause you trouble."

Jounouchi knelt in front of the brunet. "Pushing me away when I know you need me close is causing me trouble. Talk to me, Kaiba. What is really bothering you? Did they hurt you more than what you said? Mokuba said he had all the paperwork caught up and doesn't understand why you won't stop working."

Kaiba closed his eyes and slouched further in his chair. He played with Jounouchi's hair after the blond put his head in his lap. "The whole time," he whispered. "I wished for death, but an image of you and Mokuba kept me alive. Every time I prayed that death would take me I felt guilty. I didn't want to leave you so soon after telling you how I felt. I didn't want to leave Mokuba with all the responsibility of running the company. I may have done it at his age, but I didn't want him to go through that. I grew angry at my selfish thoughts." Kaiba slipped out of the chair and pulled Jounouchi against his chest. "Truthfully the last thing I want is to push you away."

The blond placed a kiss on his cheek before pulling him into a tighter embrace. "You don't have to push me away. The only reason I listened to you was because I wanted to give you the space you needed. Now all I want to do is get you help. Will you let me? Can I be there for you?"

Kaiba nodded, finally ready to admit that he needed someone's help. "I would like that."

Before Jounouchi realized it, Kaiba went slack in his arms. He glanced up and smiled. The exhausted CEO fell asleep in his arms. He placed his fingers over the pulse point in Kaiba's neck, double checking the fact that Kaiba did fall asleep because of exhaustion instead of something worse. He carefully pulled Kaiba into his arms, placing one arm under his long legs and the other around his waist. With much struggle, Jounouchi managed to get to his feet, and he rested the brunet's head against his shoulder before walking out of the office.

Mokuba's eyes widened at the sight. "He's okay. He collapsed from the strain. Is his room still the same?"

"Yes. Did he tell you anything?"

Jounouchi carefully carried Kaiba down the hallway only stopping while Mokuba opened the door. "Not much. He's going to have to talk about it. As you know, he's hiding." The blond carefully placed Kaiba down on the mattress before tucking him in. "I think you need rest as well. I can watch over him."

"Don't make me leave him. I can bring pillows and blankets. We can sleep next to his bed."

"Okay, but you need to rest on a comfortable bed. I don't want you collapsing as well."

"I will. I promise."

Jounouchi nodded, watching Mokuba disappearing out of the room. He brushed some of Kaiba's hair out of his eyes before kissing him gently on the forehead. "Sleep well," he whispered, watching as Kaiba rolled to his side and curled into a ball. The blond smiled. "You should be better known as a cat not a dragon. Your personality may be like a dragon's temper but your motions are catlike."

Mokuba quietly snuck back into the room and shut the door. He handed Jounouchi a pillow and blanket before moving to one side of the bed. He situated himself on the floor and quickly fell asleep. The blond smiled. He knew Mokuba was more tired than he let on. He put the pillow down on the opposite of Kaiba's bed and wrapped himself up in the blanket. He didn't feel tired, but that didn't mean he wouldn't try to sleep.

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The next chapter will be another short one, but I'm setting up for another event. Thank you all for reading please review.

Angel Dove


	9. Chapter 9

Thank you again for your kind reviews. I'm happy that you are enjoying this story. I'm going to start updating three times a week now since this story is done. It'll be Monday, Wednesday and Friday. This chapter is another short chapter only because the next one is one of my longest. I wanted to set that chapter up with this one. Anyway. Let's move on.

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Chapter Nine

Kaiba awoke very early the next morning. The room was pitch black. His heart pounded in his chest. He tried to get out of bed, but the blankets seemed to trap him. A startled cry released from his lips. Jounouchi instantly woke, looking up at Kaiba who was tossing and turning in his attempt to get out of bed. "Kaiba, calm down. You're okay. You're in your room."

The brunet stopped instantly and looked into Jounouchi eyes. He tried to call his name, but his voice remained trapped. He tried several times until finally Jounouchi's name fell from his lips. He wrapped his arms tightly around the blond, feeling the tears beginning to fall. Mokuba shook off his shock of seeing his strong brother falling apart. He wrapped his arms around both of them, swaying with the motion Jounouchi started.

After several long minutes, Jounouchi shifted so his back was against the headboard and both Kaibas rested on both sides of him. He reached over to the lamp and turned it on. Kaiba didn't react to the movement beside to move so he was lying on his side with his one arm around Mokuba. Jounouchi didn't know what to say or do, but he knew Kaiba would never like to talk about it with his brother present. Even though Kaiba knew Mokuba was older; to him Mokuba would still be that small child he needed to protect. "Mokuba, do you think you can brew us some tea? I think that herbal tea I brought with me a while ago should be fine?" The blond said, making eye contact with the young man.

Mokuba nodded. "Sure it might take me awhile to find it. I'm not sure what I did with it." He squeezed Kaiba's hand before slowly wiggling his way out of the brunet's arm. He took another glance at Jounouchi before walking out of the room. He was disappointed that he couldn't sit there with his older brother while he said what happened. He knew deep down that Kaiba trusted Jounouchi with the information and Mokuba didn't want his envious emotions preventing Kaiba from healing. It did scare him to see his brother so vulnerable. Mokuba growled low and grinded his teeth. He was determined now more than ever to find the people responsible. He hated to see his brother like that more than anything. He entered into the kitchen and sat down at the table, giving Jounouchi and Kaiba all the time they needed.

Jounouchi pulled Kaiba into his arms and let the taller man sit in his lap with his back resting gently against his chest. He watched Mokuba leave, knowing that the young man wanted to do more for his brother. He made a mental note to make sure Mokuba was okay later. "Do you want to talk about what happened?"

Kaiba sighed. "Not really but something tells me you're not going to let me decide."

The blond chuckled. "You got that right." He frowned before continuing. "But, if it's too difficult to talk about, I'll take a rain check."

The CEO thought for several long minutes. He trusted Jounouchi. The blond never did anything that would harm his friends. They were considered friends at least maybe more somewhere deep down. "I thought I was back in that room," Kaiba began. "I didn't remember falling asleep in front of you. I..." Kaiba shook his head. He didn't want to admit he was afraid. He shouldn't even be reacting like that. It was a painful event in his life however he was still alive. Is that all that counted?

Jounouchi ran his fingers up and down the brunet's arms. "You were afraid that you dreamt that you escaped. It frightened you that you were back in that room where you would have to endure more pain with no hope of escape other than to die. The thought of giving up flashed in your mind. When you didn't hear your captors you became confused. Nothing made sense and all you wanted to do was think things through, but the fear kept you trapped in your world. Does any of that match?"

Kaiba stared at Jounouchi. "How?"

"Before I met you, the gang I was in tried to kill me when I defended Yugi and my classmates. They strung me up by my arms to a metal chain in the middle of water. They shocked me with stun guns. I was on the verge of death when Atemu took over Yugi's body, stopping them. None of my friends except for Yugi knew about the nightmares or the confusion I had every morning for several months. I didn't experience anything as close to what you went through, but I can help you through it if you trust me."

The brunet stared at him in shock. He would never have expected Jounouchi to experience something like that. "How did you get over your fear?"

Jounouchi blushed and looked away from the deep blue eyes. "You'll laugh."

"I promise that I won't."

He took a deep breath before deciding that Kaiba needed to hear it and it didn't matter if the taller man teased him for life afterwards. "I bought a stuffed animal with the last of my money that I had from my gang time. I kept it beside me at all times so when I woke from a nightmare, I could reach for it. Then, I knew for a fact I was in that warehouse again." He stopped and waited for Kaiba to laugh but no noise came from him.

"What type of stuffed animal?"

"It was a red bird that looked like a phoenix."

"Do you still have it?"

"It's in a box at my house."

"Can I borrow it?"

Jounouchi blinked before smiling slightly. "Are you sure? I can buy you a new one."

"It won't be the same."

"You'll have to wait until I go home. I don't want to leave you right now."

"Truthfully I don't think I could sleep for awhile."

Jounouchi placed his hands in Kaiba's lap and rested his chin on Kaiba's head. "You need to sleep, Kaiba."

"I can't."

"I'll be here along with Mokuba. I'll even hold you in my arms the entire time. No one will harm you. I promise."

Kaiba sighed and shifted until his head was in Jounouchi's lap. "Just for the record, I'm only letting you do this because I trust you and not because you told me to."

Jounouchi shook his head, happy that some of Kaiba's old personality was showing and that he admitted that he trusted him. "Okay. Good night, Kaiba."

"Good night, Jounouchi." Jounouchi remained quiet while Kaiba's tense body slowly relaxed. He didn't want to do anything or say anything that would prevent the obviously exhausted man from falling asleep.

Mokuba returned a few minutes later, balancing a tray with three mugs and a teapot on it. He moved the lamp and radio off the nightstand and placed it on the table, looking down at his brother's relaxed face. "Is he okay?" Mokuba whispered.

"He's resting now, but he needs to talk about what happened. Every time we talk he reveals a tiny portion, but still refuses to say exactly what is bothering him or what they did. I'm worried that he's burying it and making himself forget."

"What happened this morning?"

"As you probably guessed, he thought he was still locked in that room. He'll do that almost everyday until he gets better. I promised to stay here like this until he wakes. You can fit on the bed also, but first, can you pour me a cup of tea? I'm a little tense."

Mokuba nodded before reaching for one of the cups. Once he sat down on the bed, he passed the mug to Jounouchi who sniffed the aroma. He knew the tea would help him relax. Sometime during their quiet time, Mokuba and Jounouchi drifted off to sleep. It had been a long couple of days and they knew it was going to be a long road of recovery.

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That's the set up. I hope you like it. The next chapter will be uploaded on Wednesday. It's the great reveal. Thank you all for reading please review.

Angel Dove


	10. Chapter 10

Thank you for your kind reviews. Just a far warning that this chapter is longer than most of my chapters. I wanted to separate it, but there wasn't a good spot so I left it as one large chapter. I hope you enjoy it.

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Chapter Ten

A few days later Jounouchi was already moved back into the mansion. The first thing he did was give the stuffed animal to Kaiba who cuddled it every night. The brunet looked peaceful during those times and obviously was having a slightly easier time sleeping. The dark circles were starting to disappear. Jounouchi started a new job as a busboy at a local restaurant. It didn't pay much, but it was enough to still send his rent to Yugi and Honda and have enough spending money left over. He worked during the breakfast and lunch rush every weekday with the weekends off. He wanted to make sure he was there for Kaiba when he needed it. After work each day, he would rush home to make dinner for both Kaibas and then spend the rest of the night making sure Kaiba went to bed at a reasonable time. He moved his original bedroom away from Mokuba's room to the room directly beside Kaiba's. The two rooms connected with a door that Jounouchi always left open. The blond slept lightly, always waking when he heard Kaiba crying in his sleep. Even though Kaiba became the new owner of Jounouchi stuffed animal, he always felt more comfortable when Jounouchi himself was present.

Jounouchi swiped his card at the register, finishing another exhausting day at work. He had only been back to work for a couple of months, and each day he was more tired than when he had two jobs over a year ago. As usual the black sedan sat out front waiting for Jounouchi. He smiled at the young red-head driver. "On time as always, Taki. You do know you don't have to be here so early."

"I want to make sure you get home in time."

Jounouchi chuckled. "Don't worry. I can cook quickly. Plus, Kaiba doesn't usually arrive home until late. Nothing to worry about."

Taki smiled. "I don't mind waiting for you."

The blond slouched slightly in the seat and covered his yawn with his hand. Taki frowned, knowing that the blond was pushing himself too much, but it wasn't his place to say. Just like everyone else, he wanted to see Kaiba back on his feet again. The tired, red-eyed and dark circled CEO wasn't the person Taki used to drive. The man used to be short tempered and demanding but polite to him. Now, Kaiba barely talked and it took a lot to get his temper flared. He shouldn't be complaining. It was nice to see a more calm man, but it shouldn't have been at the cost of his safety. Taki hated to see all the anger being replaced by exhaustion and a slight fear that Kaiba barely showed.

Taki glanced over at Jounouchi who had his eyes shut. He wondered how many nights the blond man stayed awake with Kaiba and how many times he tried to push the stubborn brunet into therapy. He pulled into the driveway of Kaiba's mansion. He was about to tap Jounouchi awake when the blond opened his eyes. He stretched his sore muscles and glanced over at the driver. "Thanks, Taki. I'll see you tomorrow morning."

"Of course, Jounouchi-san."

Jounouchi got out of the car and unlocked the empty mansion. He was used to the cleaning staff being gone now before he got home. The large, dark building was eerie when he just walked in. The subtle blow of the breeze from the front door creaked some of the floorboards. Like always, Jounouchi went through every room of the house, shutting all the doors that he asked the cleaning staff to leave open. He knew it was pointless because he could never keep track of the whole building, but it made him feel secure. Jounouchi moved down the stairs and into the kitchen. He didn't know what he wanted to make for dinner. There was only a small chunk of ground meat left over from last night's dinner. Shrugging, Jounouchi reached for it and took out a couple of cans of tomato sauce. "Spaghetti it is," he told himself. Once he had all the ingredients in the sauce and the water boiling for the noodles, he heard the front door slam. He glanced at the clock, noting that it was earlier than Mokuba's usual time to come home from school.

He shut all the burners off and came out of the kitchen just as footsteps went upstairs. He quietly followed the sound and checked Mokuba's room first. The young man wasn't in there. Even more confused. He walked further down the hallway and opened Kaiba's room. There the CEO lied faced down with his head buried in a pillow. Jounouchi frowned and walked over to the bed. Kaiba never came home early nor went straight to his room. The blond sat on the edge of the bed, knowing from past experience not to touch Kaiba right away. He watched Kaiba's back rise and fall with each quick breath. Finally when most of the tension seemed to melt away from him, Jounouchi ran his fingers down his back. The two didn't talk for several minutes, and Kaiba rolled to the side. He gently gripped Jounouchi's hand. "I'm okay."

"Flashback?"

"I thought I heard one of them."

"Where?"

"Directly outside the building when I was walking back from lunch."

"Did you see him?"

"No I walked back inside and tried to forget about it. I must have been hearing things."

"Maybe. Maybe not. Do you have cameras outside with audio?"

"Not with audio."

"Were there a lot of people outside?"

"I don't know. I wasn't paying attention."

Jounouchi frowned. That wasn't like the brunet to not know everything around him. He couldn't blame him. "We should take a look at the video. Can you access it from here?" Kaiba rolled his eyes. "Okay. I take that as a yes. Let's do it while it's fresh in your mind."

Kaiba got up and moved out of the room and down to his office followed closely by Jounouchi. He sat down at the desk and began inputting his security codes while the blond pulled up a chair beside him. He skipped the video until he saw himself walking from the car that dropped him off after his lunch meeting with another business man. On the screen, Kaiba stopped for a second before walking quickly into the building. "Go back to where you stopped and pause the video. If you have other cameras put them at the same time. There aren't a lot of people at that moment."

Kaiba moved the screens around until he had three angles of the front of the building. "We can eliminate the women automatically."

"Not to sound weird but maybe not. What if he was dressed as a woman just to get close to you?"

Kaiba printed out the screen shots and pulled out a black marker. "What do I do next?"

Jounouchi smiled gently at him, knowing that Kaiba knew what to do next. He was doubting himself. "Do you remember what the body shape of that person was? Was he tall like you? Short? Heavy set? Super thin? Average weight?"

"Tall like me and average weight. He had a lot of muscle in his arms."

"Okay. Cross off the men and women that don't fit those standards."

Kaiba glanced through the small group of people. "That may be difficult. I think this one is almost as tall as me because I know I'm a little bit taller than that hedge. This one is defiantly too small." He crossed off one of the women talking to a taller man. After some thought, he crossed off the man as well. He continued to look at all three pictures until only a couple remained.

"Do you know what he said?"

"I think it was a reply to someone's question."

Jounouchi glanced at the pictures. "You can eliminate these two, more likely. They are not talking to someone and there isn't and ear piece or cellphone. That leaves three tall men. "Do any of them look familiar?"

"This one works in my payroll office. The other two are strangers."

"Roland said something about no one who worked for you could have been responsible. They all passed a polygraph test. Did he always work for you?"

"For several years. I don't think he was the one."

"So those two who are together. They are the closet to you. I think starting tomorrow we should increase the security around you and Mokuba. Who knows if they are planning something."

"And you."

"What?"

"If they are watching me then they know you live with me. We'll need to have you protected as well. I'll have a guard ride with Taki when he's driving you."

Jounouchi knew not to argue with him. It would make Kaiba more comfortable if he agreed to the extra security. The blond stretched and moved the chair away from the desk. "Make sure your security team has a picture of those guys that way they can look out for them. In the mean time, I need to finish dinner. I'm sure Mokuba should be home."

Kaiba moved away from the desk. "It's strange that he didn't come in here."

"He probably didn't expect you to be here and this is a large house."

The brunet frowned. "Do you need help finishing dinner?"

"Not really, but you could keep me company."

Kaiba rose and started for the door. "I think I can give you a couple minutes of my time."

"Oh? Like you're so busy at that this moment."

The CEO chuckled, feeling better now that he told someone about what happened. "My time is very valuable and expensive. You should be happy that I'm giving it to you for free."

"Ecstatic." Jounouchi laughed. "Admit it. You like my food so much you're craving it."

Kaiba smiled gently. "If only you knew." He turned away from the blushing blond and continued down the stairs. He reached the bottom and was instantly tackled by a ball of energy. Jounouchi walked behind Kaiba, keeping him on his feet. "Mokuba, what's wrong?"

"Your secretary said you left early. I thought something happened to you." The raven haired men wrapped his arms protectively around his older brother.

"I'm okay. I thought I heard one of the men from the time I was kidnapped. We're going to increase security around all of us."

Mokuba was shocked that not only was Kaiba talking to him about the kidnapping but that those men were still close enough around them. "We need more security around you more than any of us."

"I know that, but I'm not planning on being anywhere else but here and work."

"Let's continue this discussion in the kitchen so I can finish dinner." Jounouchi suggested, walking down the long hallway to the large kitchen.

Mokuba pulled himself up on one of the bar stools and sat at the island while Kaiba walked over to the stove. He dipped his finger in the sauce and put it in his mouth before Jounouchi could smack his hand. "You're going to contaminate the whole meal."

"Not like there isn't enough food here for you to start over."

The blond rolled his eyes and pushed Kaiba over to where his brother was laughing at them. He turned the heat back on the sauce and water, waiting for them both to boil again while he started on the salads. "Mokuba, you're going to have to be aware of your surroundings. These men could go after you to get to me."

"Nii-sama, I'm more concerned about them coming after you. You said you heard one."

"Mokuba, there were four people. One could be watching each of us. Don't lower your defenses. I want you to promise me you won't go anywhere without an escort."

"I should be telling you the same thing."

Jounouchi walked over and set three plates of salad down. "I think we should all make that promise. I don't want anything happening to any of us."

"Agreed," Kaiba said, drizzling some dressing on the salad.

Mokuba wrinkled his nose in disgust, choosing to eat his salad without dressing. Jounouchi walked back to the toaster oven and took out several pieces of garlic bread. He set those down in the middle of the table before returning to the stove for the spaghetti. Once everything was set, the blond dug into the dinner, scooping a serving for each Kaiba. Kaiba was the first to start eating, enjoying Jounouchi's cooking. "I think we should start writing down our schedules and locations and following it with no exemptions," Jounouchi said, nibbling on his salad.

"That sounds like a good idea," Kaiba answered. "I'll start coming home at the same time everyday."

I can cancel all of my after school activities until everything is settled. Then we can all plan to be back here around this time everyday."

"I think I can handle that as long as Jounouchi continues to make dinner."

The blond chuckled. "I don't see either of you jumping to help."

"I offered this afternoon. You said no."

"Only because it was nearly done."

"We can always hire a chef."

"Then how would I earn my rent?"

"I can think of something better," Kaiba purred.

Jounouchi blushed and glanced down at his food. "Too much information, Nii-sama," Mokuba groaned. "On that note, I'll leave you both alone and go do my homework."

Kaiba waited until Mokuba disappeared upstairs. He cleared his throat. "I didn't mean it like that."

Jounouchi leaned his head on his hand. "I know that. Do you think we still have a chance?"

"I don't think. I know. My feelings for you haven't changed. I'm sorry if in the beginning it seemed like I didn't love you anymore. I just didn't want you getting hurt."

Jounouchi pushed the rest of his food away, glad that they are finally talking. "Deep down I knew you still loved me. I wanted to give you all the time you need to recover, but I wanted to be with you more. I was torn between giving you space and wanting to hold you in my arms. I still think you should go to therapy not because you're not dealing with this well, but because I want you to get better. I want you to feel safe and not have to look over your shoulder. I want you to stop blaming yourself for putting Mokuba and I through all that. But, what I want more than anything else is for you to tell me how you felt during everything they did to you. I want know when you were in pain and scared. You may have even lost hope, but I want to hear all of that from your words."

The CEO frowned and stood from his seat. "This conversation needs privacy and some place more comfortable. I'll help you clean up." He picked up the dishes and packed away the spaghetti for later as well as putting the dishes in the dishwasher. They could handle that some other time. Once everything was spotless, Kaiba led the way up to his bedroom. He was quiet as if he was leading someone to their doom. He opened his door and fiddled with the suit he still wore. Finally, he came to the conclusion that he would be more comfortable without. Once he was in a pair of sweatpants and short sleeve shirt, he moved over to the bed and sat down with his back against the headrest, inviting Jounouchi.

Jounouchi moved over to the bed and sat down beside him. He didn't want to force Kaiba into starting, and he knew better than anyone how difficult it would be to announce that something scared him. He watched Kaiba as he placed his hands in his lap. He could tell through Kaiba's eyes that the man was thinking. His face remained void of any emotions, and his body didn't scream that he was nervous about anything. Finally after a few minutes, Kaiba licked his lips and began. "I don't quite know where to start so no better placed but the beginning."

Kaiba reached down and pulled the blankets over their legs. "After I dropped you off, I wasn't paying attention to my surroundings. Usually I could tell if someone was following me or if something seemed different. I was thinking about all the places we could go and was excited about finally telling you everything. I don't remember too much about the kidnapping besides being surrounding by vans and someone pulling me into one. I couldn't even tell you if I struggled with the kidnappers. I don't even know if they knocked me unconscious or injected me with a sedative. In fact, I don't even know if there really was a man with a werewolf mask. I said things so quickly during my statement that it sounded right at that moment. My first clear memory after dropping you off was waking to a room of darkness. At first, I was afraid that I was blind. That is one of my greatest fears is to lose my eyesight. After a few seconds, I looked down and could make out the outlining of my legs. I felt relieved that I wasn't blind, but I became confused. I couldn't move from the chair they tied me to. There wasn't anyone in the room. I couldn't believe that they would kidnap me. Most people that wanted money wouldn't kidnap the person who could get it for them. They must have known that Mokuba wouldn't have the authority to get the money."

Jounouchi wrapped his fingers around Kaiba's. The taller man was still not showing emotions, but his voice revealed more than anything. Kaiba gave Jounouchi a warm smile before continuing, loving the subtle form of comfort the blond gave him. "I don't know how long I sat there in the dark. My thoughts ran rampant. I feared that they were in the process of kidnapping you and Mokuba or worse, hurting both of you. I didn't know if we were all in separate rooms or if it was just me. Every second that went by my fear of your and Mokuba's safety grew. I knew that if they only wanted me, they would come immediately into the room. The first person that came was a large muscular man. He wore a black hood that covered all of his hair, sunglasses and what looked like a medical mask over his face. He was the one that I named the leader. He is the voice I thought I heard outside my office. He talked the most.

He told me that he wanted the security codes for getting into my system. I refused. He said that he would kill Mokuba if I didn't do what he said. I called his bluff even though I was terrified doing it. I knew that if he had Mokuba that he would show him to me. That's when he called down a man I named Bruiser. This guy was taller than me, muscles rippled all over his body. He wore basically the same type of mask and hood. At first I thought he would bring in Mokuba, but when he didn't I knew that they didn't have him. I didn't care what they did to me as long as Mokuba was safe. I figured once news came of my kidnapping that Roland would increase security around Mokuba, and it would take an army to get to my little brother. The only person I worried about was you. I had hoped that Roland would notice that you were important to me and would protect you as well, but he wasn't obligated."

Kaiba slid further down in the bed until his head rested on the back of the headrest. "They realized quickly that I knew they didn't have Mokuba. They started at just beating me. I could tolerate that. Bruiser had a strong punch and each hit that landed on me hurt worse than I was used to. But was nothing I couldn't deal with. They kept yelling at me, saying that the pain would stop if I gave them the information. I refused. The security codes would give them access to everything in my company. I would lose everything and all my employees would be affected. They also could use the codes to start a war in my name. I wasn't going to let any of that happen. They stopped after maybe a few hours. They left me there, bleeding and still tied to the chair. They never cleaned the blood up or treated any of my wounds while I was in that room. Oddly enough, I don't think I ever got an infection. Now that I think about it, the doctor never mentioned anything being severely wrong.

I spent a long time in that room. Some times they would throw bread and water at me just to keep me alive. Sometimes I wouldn't see them for several days. I lost a lot of weight, and they weren't smart enough to notice the ropes they tied me with loosened. I managed to squirm my way out of them. The only disadvantage was that I became too weak to do much. I got out of the room that they unwisely left unlocked. The light hurt my eyes, but I kept pushing my tired body up the stairs. I got as far as the next door before someone grabbed me. He was furious. He pushed me down the stairs. I think my arm was fractured. It hurt to move it, but I could still manage to do that. I tried to fight back, but nothing worked. He pulled me back into the room and set me down on the chair. He was different than the others, thinner and smaller. He also didn't wear sunglasses but wore everything else. He held me down while Bruiser and the boss came back in with one other person."

Kaiba stopped not sure if he could make it past the next part. He still had nightmares about it. He shook his head and closed his eyes for a second before continuing. "The boss was more angry at the others than me. He tried again to get my security codes, but the man holding me down had a strong grip on my arm. It sent continuous pain to my head. I could barely focus, but I still shook my head. He told the other two that it was too much of a risk to keep me here. They grabbed my hand." The CEO stopped. Jounouchi figured what was coming and continued to let him talk at his own pace. He pulled the brunet in his arms and gently ran his fingers up and down his back. "I think I could have tolerated them beating me, but the pain from them burning my fingers was excruciating. They didn't do it all at once. No, they had to burn each finger one at a time. I'm sure I screamed. I'm sure I pleaded for them to stop. I wanted to die! I didn't even think of you or Mokuba. I didn't care. I just wanted to die.

I was relieved when they finished. I thought they would stop at that but they didn't. They took a knife and carved the blusters that started to form off my fingers. When they were done, I could barely stay conscious. I never wanted anything more in my life but to die. Pain radiated everywhere from my body. My consciousness went in and out. I could feel them carrying my body and dumping it in an alleyway like some piece of trash. I tried to move at first, hoping to be able to get help, but it was a lost cause. After that, I didn't bother to fight or crawl my way out of the alleyway. I gave up. I'm so sorry. I should have fought more. I should have made my body move out of that alleyway. The hospital was right there. If I kept pushing, maybe I could have been found by some other doctor."

Jounouchi tilted Kaiba's head up. "You are not to blame. No one would be mad at you for wanting to die. What they put you through was horrific. Anyone would have wanted to die. I'm so proud that no matter what they did to you, you still kept them from getting what they wanted. Something inside of you wanted to stay alive and that is why you are still here. Stop beating yourself up for wanting to die. You reacted normally. I would be more afraid if you didn't want to die."

Kaiba sighed and curled into Jounouchi's arms. "Thank you. You have no idea how much that means to me." The tension in the CEO's body slowly began to melt away. "But, I'm not finished."

"Take your time."

The brunet sighed before slowly going through the last of the event. "The next time I remembered gaining consciousness was inside the hospital. I wasn't in a lot of pain just uncomfortable. I felt relieved that someone must have found me. I was excited about seeing you and Mokuba again. I felt like I managed to save everyone. That was until I realized I wasn't alone in the room. That doctor was there and he sat close by. I was confused. He had a syringe in his hand and a look on his face that screamed he was a despicable person. I wanted to get away from him but I slightly trusted him. I never knew an evil doctor could work freely in a hospital. He told me that he wanted those security codes, and until he got them, I wasn't ever leaving that room. He threatened Mokuba, saying that somewhere down the line my security would slip up enough for them to get him. I still refused. I knew Roland well enough to never be far away and to be able to find Mokuba quickly, especially with me missing. I felt arrogant but smart. I knew all these things. When I refused, he injected me with something, and I fell right back to sleep.

This happened several times. Each time I awoke he was there until he slipped one day. I woke on my own. The drug he gave me must only work for several hours. He probably had to give it at the same time everyday. I don't know why he missed it, but it took me several minutes to get my muscles moving. I searched for that button to summon the nurses, but it wasn't there, not that I would trust them. I tried to leave the room. I ripped all the wires off and painfully crawled out of bed. You know that feeling when your foot falls asleep and it's starting to wake. That needle pricking pain was all over my body. I managed to walk halfway across the room before he came in. He glared at me, roughly slamming me back on the bed. He was furious, and I knew he couldn't do much psychically to me because someone might notice. So, I didn't fear him as much as I used to. He injected me again without even asking about the security codes. That was the last time I awoke without him present before you came."

Kaiba shivered slightly and pulled the blankets up to his chin. Jounouchi slid further down until he was lying with the brunet in his arms. "I heard your voice through the darkness. I couldn't will my eyes to open or my body to move. I don't know how you found me, but you were talking as if you didn't know it was me. I struggled and fought my way back. I didn't know who you were talking to but I knew you were close. I pleaded to every god to help me reach you. I feared you would leave before I had a chance to see you. You have no idea how happy I was when I opened my eyes and you were there. I didn't care how you found me. I knew you'd never let anyone hurt me. You proved that several times by not letting that doctor near me. I knew he had that drug. I knew he was trying to manipulate you into believing that I only woke temporarily."

Jounouchi placed a kiss on Kaiba's cheek. "I knew something was wrong. Someone as powerful as you should have alarmed normal doctors. They would have reported you right away if they were a good person. He didn't strike me as someone to trust. Are you feeling slightly better getting all that out of you?"

Kaiba nodded and closed his eyes. "I feel relieved. I knew you wouldn't leave me, but that inner demon was making it difficult to resist what he was saying. I feared that you'd leave me alone before I could ever apologize to you. I didn't want you to learn how badly I wanted to die then. I'm selfish and could never forgive myself for conceding." Jounouchi pushed Kaiba onto his back and propped himself up on his right arm, silencing the CEO. "What is it?"

The blond ran his finger down his cheek and along his chin. "I've never seen that expression on your face before. Someone as strong as you should never show that face."

"What are you talking about?"

"You looked hopeless like you had nothing left in your life. How many times do I have to beat this into that genius mind of yours? I'm not leaving you. Mokuba is not leaving you. You won't lose anything. It doesn't matter what thoughts went through your head. I thought I just told you it's okay to think that way when someone is hurting you beyond anything you've ever experience. All that matters is you fought enough to return to us." Jounouchi leaned down and placed a gentle kiss in his lips. "Please don't ever think that way again. You are still the strong, proud man you were in the past. Do you know how many people in your company told me they were proud of you? You walked back in that door with your head held high. You went through that pain not just to protect yourself and your money, but to protect us and everyone else that may have been affected. I know that each one of your employees would become far more loyal to you if you told them what those people wanted. I know I would have. You saved a lot of lives by going through that horrible event. I don't ever want to hear you call yourself selfish again. You have beautiful soul that matches your physical body, Kaiba. It's time you see it again."

Jounouchi slid off him and gently lifted the brunet off the bed. He made him stand in front of the mirror. "Right now, you have dark circles under your eyes from the restless nights those men caused you to have even those circles don't seem as dark or large as they were. Your cheeks and eyes are red and puff, but that doesn't hide the spectacular blue eyes from glistening through." The blond ran his fingers down Kaiba's back. "You are slowly gaining your weight and muscles back. You're not exactly where you were before you were kidnapped, but that doesn't mean it's stopping you. This brain of yours may be your greatest strength but it is also your greatest weakness. Even through the pain and suffering of being tortured you never stopped thinking. I admire the fact that you were able to call their bluff. However, this mind of yours kept thinking even after you were safe. It kept pushing you into thinking horrible things about yourself. Things that weren't true."

The ex-duelist pulled him out of the room and back downstairs. Kaiba didn't fight him. He was curious on what else Jounouchi had planned. Jounouchi led him into the living room and pulled open a drawer that he hadn't looked at since Kaiba's returned. Inside were numerous articles and pictures. "I kept this from you until the time you needed it the most. You need to see what the world thinks of you." He took the drawer out and walked over to the couch, sitting down with Kaiba next to him. He handed him one article at a time along with several pictures of the events. "When you first were kidnapped, people of all ages came to lay flowers and lit candles outside of the mansion. They held prayer groups of every time. Everyone was praying and hoping for your safe return. We had to clear out the flowers and gifts ever day. I personally did that only because Mokuba wasn't completely mentally there. Ever person that was there when I would come out, shook my hand and made me promise that I would let Mokuba know that they were praying for your safe return. The news had your face plastered on every paper and channel in the world. The amount of support only slowly died when we reached nine months. People began to morn. Everyone one of your employees wore something black and blue every day. The black represented their sadness and the blue was the hope that you would return."

Jounouchi handed him several pictures of all his employees. "They never gave up on you even when the board members pushed them to stop wearing those items. Mokuba put a stop to that instantly. He told them that they had no right to tell them to stop. We received donations from every organization all of which went to a fund set up that paid the police and your private security that continued to search for you. Mokuba and I decided that we wanted to collect everything that said something about you. I didn't know this until the first day I returned to the mansion with you. Mokuba showed me pictures and articles of the day I found you."

He reached inside and pulled out the last of the pictures and news articles. "Countries all around the world held a celebration. They were happy that you were finally back. Your staff here in the mansion cleaned everything up and set new flowers everywhere. They were ecstatic that you were finally going to return home. Your employees changed their black and blue to white and blue. Even though you weren't welcomed home with smiles and everyone telling you how happy they were to have you back, they showed it in less subtle ways. They respected the fact that you would not want to be bombarded with happiness and knew that you might not be ready for so many people wanting to be near you. You see, Kaiba, even though you may have wanted to concede to death and never see this world again, there are people everywhere happy that you are finally home. And, I know every one of them would not think less of you if they found out that you thought once during that whole year you were gone that you wanted to die. That is not what is important here." Jounouchi put all the pictures and articles back in the drawer and placed it at his feet. He flipped Kaiba's hands over and looked at the still scarred fingertips. "These should never be proof of your shame. They should be symbols of your bravery. I love you, Kaiba, no matter what. I will never leave your side nor would your brother."

Kaiba smiled gently at Jounouchi. "I think all my employees need a special thank you from their grateful boss."

"What did you have in mind?"

"I think it should be a surprise even for you. But, first," Kaiba yawned. "I need more sleep. Will you join me tonight?"

"Of course." Jounouchi smiled and walked back up to Kaiba's room hand in hand with his lover. The two settled in each other's arms. Kaiba felt warmer then he had been feeling and safe in Jounouchi's strong arms. Plans of what he wanted to do for all his loyal employees remained in his mind, but he wasn't going to think of it that night. Right now he needed to do something for himself. He needed to sleep and nothing in his mind could stop him from doing that.

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I hope none of that was too overwhelming to anyone. The next chapter will be up on Friday. Thank you all for reading. Please review.

Angel Dove


	11. Chapter 11

Thank you again for your kind reviews. This chapter is going to start the next part of my story. It's still a little longer than my normal sized chapters.

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Chapter Eleven

The next morning Kaiba awoke before Jounouchi. He very carefully and quietly got out of bed and showered. He didn't want to wake the shorter man. After dressing, he took one last look at his lover and shut the door carefully behind him. He had a lot of planning that he wanted to accomplish before anyone noticed. Kaiba walked into his office on the first floor, choosing to stay home instead of moving to Kaiba Corp. The first thing he did was start a program that gave him a list of people hired before his kidnapping and was still there. He gave every one of them an immediate raise as well as giving every employee, new and old, a bonus check. He called human resources and informed them of the changes he made. He also told them to include two free tickets to Kaibaland.

Once finished with the personnel, he began ordering party supplies and catered food for everyone in the building that would last the entire week. The cakes were simply designed and had only two words written on it, "Thank you." He spent the remainder of the morning giving his security an extra five days of personal time to be used at their own convince as well as raises, bonuses and free Kaibaland tickets. He was completely wrapped up in his work that he didn't notice Jounouchi going to work or Mokuba going to school. By early afternoon, Kaiba had the dining room decorated for the party he was giving Mokuba, Jounouchi and his staff that were still there that night.

He smiled at all the work he accomplished before sitting down on the couch. He shut his exhausted eyes only for a second, but his body had other plans. He slept peacefully for a few hours, not even disturbed by Jounouchi or Mokuba's return. They were in shock by the elaborate decoration Kaiba had all over the dining room. The two decided to let the CEO sleep as long as he needed. Jounouchi chose to ignore the snack food and sat down in front of Kaiba with his back against the side of the couch. He was exhausted as well and found himself unable to fight the pull to slumberland.

Mokuba decided to do his homework in the living room while the two sleep. Even though he was also tired from the stress, he knew that Jounouchi spent more nights easing Kaiba out of his nightmares than he did. He found himself distracted from the homework as his thoughts whirled around the reasoning for the decorations. If Kaiba wanted to show his appreciation, a simple thank you would have sufficed. The front door opened, putting Mokuba instantly on defense. He visibly relaxed when he saw it was only Roland. The tall man took one glance at Kaiba before motioning for the young man to join him in the foyer. "What's the matter?"

"Today the payroll department went around to everyone issuing letters from Kaiba-sama. It seems like he's giving everyone bonus checks and two tickets to Kaibaland. The security received the same, but it looks like we also got more personal time. Later in the afternoon after everyone started to settle down, several trucks of catered food showed up and gave everyone free lunches. All the while there have been no signs of Kaiba-sama. Do you know why he did all of this?"

Mokuba shook his head before leading Roland into the decorated dining room. "He did the same for us. I didn't expect this, but Jounouchi didn't seem shocked. I think he knew something like this would happen. Is anyone upset?"

"Not at all, Mokuba-sama. They are extremely happy and pleased that he appreciates them. I was worried that this was signs of depression or worse starting signs of suicide."

"It's neither. I think Jounouchi might have gotten through to him. This may be signs of him returning." Mokuba smiled softly. "I can hardly wait to have my big brother back."

The older man smiled. "It would be nice to see him more confident. Let him know I'm around the house. He wanted to personally speak to me." Mokuba nodded before the two went their separate ways. The young man was impressed that Roland was observant, but he figured he had to be in order to be a security guard. Mokuba would never think that this was signs of him concluding his life. He would forever be grateful to the older man. He sat down at the table he was at before only to turn and see his brother's eyes watching him. He placed his finger to his lips and pointed down. The brunet smiled and ruffled Jounouchi's hair, instantly waking him.

"There's no time to sleep. The food will get cold."

"I wasn't the one sleeping to begin with." Jounouchi stood and stretched his still sleeping muscles. "What's the matter? Decorating the dining room exhausted you?"

Kaiba faced turned slightly red. His temper became uncontrollable. "I would have you know that I did more than decorate for your personal party. I did what you said and showed my appreciation to all my employees. How dare you claim that I did so little and decided to take a nap!"

Jounouchi grinned with delight. Finally Kaiba was fighting back with him. "Oh wait, I must apologize, typing away at a computer is so exhausting. It takes a lot of work moving just your fingers."

"More work than it takes to serve..." his snappy comeback was interrupted by laughter. He glanced around the blond to see his brother almost falling out of his chair. Tears streamed down his red face. He hiccupped but continued to laugh.

Jounouchi snickered. "I think someone got the joke."

"Joke? You did that on purpose?"

"I know how exhausting it is to run a company. Reading and working on a computer takes a lot of concentration. I just wanted to see how easy it is for you to get angry."

Kaiba visibly calmed. "It worked. Now, let's eat." They moved into the large dining room where Kaiba shut off the small flames under each platter. He lifted all the lids of various nationality foods.

"I think we have enough for a huge party."

"It's mainly for you, but I'm going to invite the security and cleaning staff that are still here."

"Speaking of security. Roland is around here. He said you wanted to see him," Mokuba said.

"Great. I'll go find him. You two enjoy."

Right before Kaiba could move away, Jounouchi reached out and held his hand. "Not so fast. You need to eat."

"I will once I talk to Roland. Trust me."

The blond waited for a few seconds before letting Kaiba's hand go. "You have a half hour. I'll be timing you."

The CEO chuckled. "Yes, sir." He quickly left the room, figuring it would be easier to find Roland if he checked the security cameras from his office. When he entered, he found the older man standing by the window. "Just the person I want to talk to."

Roland turned around and bowed. "You wished to speak with me, Kaiba-sama?"

"I think they are following me again."

Roland was shocked, but didn't show it. That explained why Kaiba suddenly left the day before. "Where were you?"

"Right outside of Kaiba Corp. I heard one of their voices. I'm not saying it's definite, but I want you to increase security slightly. Add a man to ride with Taki when he's driving Jounouchi around. I want three extra men around Mokuba's school. Don't hinder their lessons or activities. Mokuba is suspending his after school clubs until this is over. He should get home a little bit after Jounouchi. I want people patrolling the mansion and Kaiba Corp. 24/7. And," Kaiba reached for two pictures. "With Jounouchi's help I managed to narrow down the people in the area that I was in when I head his voice. Have these two investigated and make sure all the guards know these two faces. Is everything clear?"

Roland took the pictures and put them in his inner pocket. "Crystal, Kaiba-sama."

"Good, now I want you and the rest of the staff still here to come enjoy some food with us. Don't worry about patrolling now. I'll activate the motion sensors once everyone is in the same room."

"I don't think that is a good idea, sir, especially now that they may be back."

"It won't be long. Just enough time to eat."

"Fine, but it'll be in half hour shifts with the guards."

Kaiba rolled his eyes. "Sometimes I think you argue too much with your boss, but fine. Half hour shifts. You come on the first shift. You're my most trusted employee and friend."

Roland smiled softly before bowing. Even though he knew that he was important to Kaiba, it felt better hearing it straight from Kaiba's lips. The two walked quietly down the hallway, neither one of them needing to say anything more. Just as Kaiba entered the dining room his cellphone rang. He pulled it out and placed it beside his ear, hoping it wasn't anything that would require him to fix. "Kaiba."

"You sound so different when you answer the phone." Kaiba's eyes widened and he gripped the phone. Roland took one look at his boss and instantly got on his own cellphone.

"Trace the number that just called Kaiba-sama's phone." He nodded to Kaiba, keeping his security on the line.

Kaiba took a silent calming breath and shook his head at Jounouchi and Mokuba. He didn't want anyone interfering. "What can I do for you?"

"We want another play date. You were so much fun the first time."

"Sorry, I'm unavailable for that."

The man chuckled. "I wasn't asking. However, you weren't as fun as we thought you'd be. I think next time your little brother might want to come."

Kaiba glared at the wall in front of him. "Don't even think about it," he hissed.

"So much anger, little kitty, but I don't think you can call the shots. You see my boss is very annoyed at our failure and ordered us to try again. I think a new approach is in order. Maybe we'll leave both of you alone. I'm sure you have a lot of security around you. What about that beautiful blond I see coming and going?"

Kaiba's eyes flashed to Jounouchi. He knew it was only a matter of time until Jounouchi's presence was known. "Is he your lover? I bet you two have a lot of passionate nights. Tell me something, Kaiba. Does he bottom for you? I bet he's a screamer. He must squirm like a fish. I bet he likes it hard and fast. Have you tried bondage? He looks like the type that wants to be held down. I could teach you ways to keep that sexy whore satisfied. What do you say?"

"You will never touch him or anyone in my family. I will find you and kill you," Kaiba growled. His hand felt sweaty and sore from gripping the phone. He looked over at Roland who shook his head.

"Now, now, Kaiba. You don't want to say anything that will make this harder on you. Or, maybe you like it rough. How turned on were you when we burnt your fingers. I bet you were so hard that it would only take one small lick and you'd cream yourself. Want to try?"

"Shut up! Do you have a point to this call or did your man run off on you and left you frustrated enough to have phone sex with me?"

The man chuckled again. "I would do more than have phone sex with you if that was true. Tell me another thing. Are you hard? Is that why you're angry? Have fun tonight. It might be your last night with that blond beauty. I can see he's very concerned about you especially with how close he keeps stepping towards you."

Kaiba dropped the phone right as the man hung up. "He can see us. Search everywhere."

Roland barked the commands on the phone and moved closer to Kaiba. "Let's get the three of you into another room. If he can see you through the living room window then he's too close."

The older man walked in front of them turning the lights on as he went. He was going to personally protect the three young men. "Did you trace him?" Kaiba asked, attempting to hide his fear and stress. He used his security code in the library to open the computer room and waited for Roland to secure it first.

"He was blocking us. I will find him somehow." He moved them into the computer room that had no windows and screens for every security camera. Kaiba instantly moved to the screens and saw his security walking along the outside of the house. "They're not going to find him. Have them positioned at all entrances. We'll see if I can find him on the video." The CEO isolated one of the screens and began with the camera directly outside the living room window. He checked the call time on his phone and positioned the video at the same time. He ran each frame slowly until the time the call ended but there were no signs of anyone.

He paused that video and typed in the times for the camera in the tree midway between the living room window and the wall surrounding his property. It had the same view as the other one except it gave a wider angle. When no figure came into view, Kaiba growled in frustration. "Either he has good eyes or he bluffed. Bring someone in here to check all camera angles during the times I have programmed. Also, send someone over to Motou's house. Since they saw Jounouchi they might connect him to Yugi. Jounouchi, you might want to call them."

The blond nodded and took his cellphone out of his pocket. He dialed Yugi's number and only waited a few seconds before the shorter man picked up. "It's good to finally hear from you."

Jounouchi smiled. "One of these times it won't be me. But I need to tell you something and don't have much time. Kaiba is sending security over to your house. They're just going to watch it. The men that kidnapped him are back and know about me. They haven't said anything about you or Honda, but I need you both to be careful."

"What about Atemu and Otogi?"

The blond glanced over at Kaiba who was typing things into the computer before replying. "Can they stay over there for a few days? I know the house isn't very big, but I figured they would share a bed with you and Honda."

"Atemu wouldn't have a problem, but Otogi may need to stay at his home since he may need things there to run his business. He says sales have been increasing leaving him with more work than usual. I will ask him or have Honda ask him. Are all three of you okay?"

Jounouchi moved to right outside of the room. I am, but I'm worried about Kaiba," he whispered. "Just yesterday he opened up to me and told me everything in detail. Gods, Yugi, what they put him through was horrific. I don't know if I would have made it out mentally or physically fine. I think this man scares him more than he lets on. I feel terrible for him. He used to be scared of nothing and no one. I think that's one of things brothering him. It must be difficult admitting that someone scares you when you've been telling people you fear nothing. I tried to reassure him that everyone is scared of something or someone and that it's okay, but I don't think he fully accepted that. Any ideas?"

Yugi paused for a moment. "Did you tell him about yourself and the nightmares? You two are alike in more ways than one."

"I did. That's what got him to tell his story."

"The only thing I could think of is just being there for him. I'm sure he'll tell you more now that he's opened up to you already. He should come to you when he needs you the most."

"I hope so. I really want him to get over this. I know he could never return to normal, but I don't want him thinking that he should be fearless and beating himself up for being scared of this man." Jounouchi paused, hearing Kaiba shouting his name. "I have to go. Stay safe, Yugi."

"I'm more worried about you, but I will. Atemu and Honda will at the least be here with me maybe Otogi if we can get him."

"Okay. Bye, Yugi." He hung up the phone and walked back into the room, seeing a slightly frazzled CEO. "What's wrong?"

"I thought you would stay in this room. We don't know where this guy is."

He frowned and walked over to Kaiba. "I was right outside the door. I'm sure your security has already searched the house. I understand what you're saying, and I'm sorry that I stepped out," he admitted to ease Kaiba's worries.

Kaiba sighed and glanced over at Mokuba who has been sitting very quietly in one of the chairs since they arrived. "Maybe we should get some rest. I know I've had enough today."

"How about we pull out the air mattress and all sleep in one room?" Mokuba suggested.

Tension seemed to ease away from Kaiba's body. "That's a good idea. Roland, we'll be in my bedroom if you find any information."

"Yes, sir."

Kaiba hesitated only for a second before walking out of the room. The three passed several guards along the way. The CEO stopped at the large closet at the top of the stairs. He pulled out one mattress along with the air pump. He glanced at Jounouchi who shook his head. The blond was planning on staying in the same bed as Kaiba. The brunet pulled out a sheet, blanket and pillow and handed them to Jounouchi so he could carry them. It took them almost a half hour to get ready for bed.

Kaiba knelt beside Mokuba who curled under the blankets. He tucked the young man in. "Are you okay, Nii-sama?"

"I'm fine. Get some sleep. We'll eat a big breakfast in the morning. Okay?"

"You too?"

Kaiba chuckled. "Probably not as much as you or Jounouchi, but I'll eat something. I promise."

"It better be more than a piece of fruit."

"It will be." He placed a kiss on Mokuba's forehead, feeling like Mokuba was ten again. Old habits were hard to break. He moved over to the bed. Jounouchi held the blanket up and waited until Kaiba curled against him. He pulled Kaiba's thin body against his.

"Mokuba's right. You need to eat something more than a piece of fruit tomorrow."

"I will."

"Do you want to talk about the phone call?"

Kaiba fell silent, debating on talking to Jounouchi. He trusted the blond and knew that he was only trying to help. He sighed softly before starting. "He threatened all three of us. He wanted to torture me or Mokuba and assault you."

Jounouchi blinked to the different word. He would think assault and torture could be the same. Why did Kaiba separate them? Then it dawned on him. "He knows we're lovers."

Kaiba nodded. "He thinks we are having wild sex and suggested we do a few things. He thinks it would turn you on. Then, he threatened to violate you."

"We won't give him the opportunity."

"I wish it was that simple."

"Who knows? Maybe it would be."

"I don't want anything to happen to you, Mokie or anyone else."

The blond pulled Kaiba closer to him. "We don't want anything to happen to you either. We know that creep is around. All we have to do is make it further than him. There's only so long he can hide from your security and in so many places. Don't you agree?"

Kaiba sighed. Everything inside of him wanted to agree, but there was that fear that he hated to admit he had. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Time will only tell," the CEO said with a yawn. He slowly closed his eyes and was instantly asleep. Jounouchi smiled and relaxed beside him. He knew it was only so long before the exhausted brunet fell asleep. He silently vowed to help find this man that tormented Kaiba and put the same unwanted fear in him that he placed inside of Kaiba. He fell into a deep sleep, praying to the gods for their protecting.

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I hope everyone like that chapter. The next one should be up on Monday. Thank you all for reading please review.

Angel Dove


	12. Chapter 12

Thank you for your kind reviews. This one is another short chapter that's setting up the next chapter. Warning: This is a fast paced chapter.

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Chapter Twelve

A loud explosion of noise woke all three occupants. Mokuba ran over to the bed. Kaiba wrapped his arms around him and pulled in into his lap. Jounouchi sat straight up. "It sounds like a war zone."

Suddenly the door slammed open. Jounouchi instantly put himself in front of the two Kaibas but relaxed when he saw it was Roland. "Kaiba-sama, we need to get all of you out of here."

"What's going on?"

"An army of black hooded people showed up. My men are keeping them at bay. We need to get out."

Kaiba got out of bed and moved with Mokuba clinging to him and Jounouchi directly beside him. They moved through the hallway, trying to ignore the gunfire going on outside. They crouched in a corner just at the bottom of the stairs. "Why aren't the police here yet?"

"They might be by now, but it's hard to tell who everyone is out there, or they could be choosing to let us sort it out first." Roland glanced towards the foyer before using his own body to block any vision of Kaiba and the others. He moved them quickly down the hallway and to the back of the house. He glanced out the window in the kitchen and growled. They were surrounded. There was no way to safely get them out of the house. Unless. Roland reached into his pocket for his phone. "Send the helicopter and get it right over the top of the roof as close as possible. Be here in five minutes and be prepared to move quickly." He hung up the phone and turned to them. "They have us surrounded. The only way out is up. Let's go."

Roland moved quickly back upstairs, keeping his eyes open for anything. Luckily his men still had the enemies positioned outside around the stone wall. Hoping that the helicopter would make it before the enemy got within range, he moved through the crawl space leading to the attic. The large area was storage to all the building equipment they needed to make any repairs on the house. He stuck his head out the only window that was in the back of the house. He glanced around quickly; making sure it was dark enough for them to slip out of the window and onto the roof. He pulled two of the large, thick plywood boards and with Jounouchi and Seto's help, got it up on the roof. He constructed a barrier between it and the chimney. One by one he pulled them out of the window and kept them behind it. The noise was deafening and the smell of smoke nauseating. They could barely hear the helicopter approaching.

The ladder was thrown down but by then bullets were ricocheting off the wood and chimney. Mokuba ducked and pulled both Jounouchi and Kaiba down with them. Roland moved in-between them. "Get up the ladder. Don't worry about anyone," he shouted to them. Kaiba grabbed his brother and forced him up the ladder. The wood would cover them until they reached a few feet from the helicopter. The wind blew everything around, making it difficult for Roland to keep the board in place. The security on the helicopter quickly pulled the three in and secured them against the back of the helicopter, trying to protect them from the gunshots that made it up there.

Roland signaled for the helicopter to go as he grabbed the ladder. He pulled himself up with strength he didn't know he still had left. He managed to get to the top and nearly fell off when a bullet hit him in the leg. Kaiba broke away from his protector and reached out and grabbed him. With the help of everyone, they managed to pull him inside. He hissed and placed his hand over the wound. One of the other security men moved over with the first aid kit. "Where to, sir?" the pilot shouted.

"Jounouchi-san's friends are all meeting at Kaiba Corp. We'll take them someplace safe from there," Roland said through his clenched teeth as the man duck into the wound for the bullet.

Kaiba tried to move over to his friend, but Jounouchi held him back. The blond shook his head. He knew that Kaiba cared about Roland like they were family, but he didn't want him getting in the way while the man was working on him. He pulled Mokuba into his arms, relieved that they all managed to get out of there alive. He prayed to all the gods that Kaiba's security were able to get out alive and once the army saw they escaped that they would leave. He didn't want anyone to die, but he wasn't foolish enough to believe that any one didn't.

The helicopter landed just as Roland's leg was wrapped with a bandage. They were greeted on the hanger by a confused group of friends. None of them had a chance to question anyone before they were herded on a small jet plane. The jet barely had enough room for all of them to squeeze in. Some had to sit on the other's laps and duck their heads. Roland was placed over them with his head in Jounouchi's lap and his legs in Honda's. It took off within seconds. The noise was too loud for them to speak to each other and they were all still in shock. Jounouchi held Roland securely, not wanting to hurt him more with the rocking jet.

The small aircraft landed hard on what felt like a runway no more than a few minutes after they took off. More of Kaiba's personnel moved them out of the jet and onto Kaiba's personal plane. The large plane looked completely white and didn't have its usual KC logo or the Blue Eyes on it. They were pushed up the stairs and ordered to buckle in. They loaded Roland in last, propping his leg up on the nearest chair. Within minutes they were speeding down the run way and up into the air.

Once the plane was at the correct altitude, Atemu took his seatbelt off and walked up to Kaiba. "What is going on? We were rudely wakened by your security and pushed into a car, then a small jet and now this plane."

"I'll explain later," Kaiba coldly replied and walked over to Roland. "Is it bad?"

"No, Kaiba-sama. They got the bullet out and temporarily stitched it. Once we land, I'll have a doctor look at it."

"I'm sorry."

"Hush. It's not your fault. If you don't mind, I'm going to rest until we land."

"Of course. Yell if you need anything." Kaiba walked back over to his seat, ignoring the looks from everyone. He pulled Mokuba who was silently shaking into his arms. "Try to sleep, Little Brother. Everything is over for now."

Jounouchi turned to his friends. "I'll tell you what happened. Kaiba, you should follow your own advice. After I catch them up, we'll all sleep. Okay?"

Kaiba nodded and reached under the seat for the blanket and pillow that were always there. Mokuba lifted the arm of the seat and curled next to his brother.

"An army attacked the mansion."

"What?" Honda's eyes widened. "Who would have enough money and resources to do something like that?"

"I don't know. We actually don't know much. I think for now it would be best to sleep and find out more information later."

"Where are we going? I do have my own business to run and can't afford at this moment to leave."

"I don't know, Otogi. Let's trust Kaiba's personnel. I'm sure they'll tell us once we land. Until then, I know I'm getting some sleep," the blond said forcefully, glancing back at the Kaiba brothers. He didn't want to talk to anyone about what was going on, and he wanted to give Kaiba as much time to prepare. He could tell that Kaiba was losing what little resolve he had left. Mokuba wasn't talking, and he still shook even when he was attempting to sleep. He, himself, wasn't even thinking clearly.

"I think Jounouchi is right. Kaiba only has the most trusted people on his payroll protecting him. It's been a long night. Let's all get some sleep," Yugi said, wanting to stop all and any arguments that would arise. They were all tired and a little cranky, not to mention what Jounouchi and the Kaibas experienced. It would be best if they just went to sleep. When they wake, it'll be easier to talk.

Jounouchi moved up front with Mokuba and Kaiba and slept in the chair next to them. Yugi and Atemu took the next row back while Otogi and Honda sat in the row behind Roland. Within minutes everyone was asleep. The plane rocked back and forth through the turbulence, but it didn't affect anyone of them while they were sleeping.

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I hope I didn't okay with that. I wanted it to be fast pace like they were moving quickly. Thank you all for reading. Please review. The next chapter will be uploaded on Wednesday. I'm getting closer to the end now.

Angel Dove


	13. Chapter 13

Thank you once again for your kind reviews. This chapter may disappoint some people with the relationship between Kaiba and Jounouchi. I also am a fan of uke Seto but it doesn't match the story this time. Sorry everyone.

Warning: Yaoi in this chapter

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Chapter Thirteen

Hours later Kaiba awoke to a warm breeze blowing across his face. He opened his eyes and saw a small stream of light coming from the open door to the plane. He glanced to his right and saw that Roland wasn't there. It didn't scare him to see the head of his security gone, especially knowing that they landed someplace that they considered safe for them. He gently placed Mokuba's head back down on the seat after he got up from it. Everyone else was still asleep. He moved to the door and shielded his eyes from the bright light.

At the bottom of the stairs, Roland sat talking to a small army of men. The bandage on his leg looked different. Near the group of people was a large black van with tinted windows. The air felt slightly warm, and he could hear airplanes in the distance taking off and landing. One of the guards nodded to Roland who turned slightly to look up at Kaiba. "Kaiba-sama, did you sleep well?"

He nodded. "Where are we?"

"In a private airport about two hours outside of London. We didn't want to go anywhere near anything that could be affiliated with Kaiba Corp. We rented a townhouse just outside of London using a name no one would think would be you. I have a team setting up security cameras and securing the area around the house. We need to alter all of your appearances until we get all of you inside."

"Wouldn't they track the plane here?"

"We had five airplanes take off at the same time you did. Each of them went to different locations. All five of them rented houses in five different countries including this one. We used your five aliases. There was a house rented by you in Manchester. We may change countries once we have things set up, but for now, we are stopping here."

"Wouldn't the cameras see us now?"

"The cameras are on the other side of the airplane. They think no one has left yet. We made this look like the exit for security personnel."

"Who do they think is on this airplane?"

"A famous producer and a few of his friends. If you are all ready to move, we should get everyone changed." Roland pulled himself up against the side of the stairs as two men carrying large suitcases came into the plane.

"What about your leg? They know they shot you."

"Don't worry about that. I've been walking on it. I just have to get into the car with you and then after that we don't have to hide it." The older man walked with his boss up and into the airplane. Everyone was already awake. "It's time to move everyone. We need you to change your appearance until we can get you inside of the house we rented for the time being."

"Where are we?" Atemu asked.

"London, England. If you gentlemen would be so kind to change into these clothes and put these wigs on. We have color changing contacts and make up to change the color of your skin. Some of you will need to wear shoes that would make you taller but look like they have no heels. Mokuba-sama, that would defiantly be you. I know you're used to changing your appearance. Can anyone else walk normal in heels?"

"I can," Yugi said. He blushed when everyone looked at him. "Don't stare at me like that. Atemu can also. Haven't you ever seen the heel on some of our shoes?"

Honda rolled his eyes. "No you're not gay at all."

Jounouchi snickered. "We can't all show up like guys can we? I know where you're going with this."

Roland cleared his throat. "Yes, I do need a few females."

"I'll be a girl and Otogi wouldn't have a problem being a girl either. Right, Otogi?" Jounouchi said.

"Why would I agree to that? You just think I'm girly. I know how it is."

Honda laughed. "At least you'll be able to hold onto me the whole time. Just think of the possibilities. We could kiss in public and full everyone around us!"

"Fine. I'll be a girl as well. I want to see how you get Mr. Muscles over there into a dress."

Jounouchi laughed. "I bet I can pull it off better than you."

"Oh, yeah! How much?"

"One thousand yen."

"You're on."

"I bet all of you my company I can pull it off better than any of you," Kaiba cut in.

Jounouchi glanced back and hadn't even noticed that Kaiba changed his clothes. His eyes widened in shock. Kaiba's thin frame fit perfectly in the long black dress. He had long red hair and gorgeous green eyes. His pale skin was now a slightly tan color. Jaws dropped everywhere. Mokuba laughed, knocking all of them out of their trance. "Hell no, Kaiba. You pull that off too easily," Jounouchi answered.

The CEO smirked and placed the diamond jewelry he was given on, starting with the long necklace then the clip-on earrings. He slipped long black gloves that landed just below his elbows. He put a ring and bracelets on before bending over to buckle his shoes. He brushed his hair back over his shoulder and placed his hand on his hip. "We don't have all day. You guys need to change and stop looking at me. This stuff isn't comfortable."

Everyone began moving at once. The security now in the room, helped transformed each of them into someone else. Yugi and Atemu grew a few inches. Yugi had short brown hair and Atemu had shoulder length blond hair. Both of their eyes were now blue and they wore a three piece suit. Yugi's was black and Atemu's was blue. Yugi's skin became darker while Atemu's became paler.

Mokuba stood tall like Kaiba wearing a gray three piece suit. His long black hair was now very short black hair. He had black as coal colored eyes. Honda was dressed in a brown three piece suit with long blond hair that came down to halfway down his back. He had green eyes and was in the process of pulling his hair up into a ponytail. He glanced over at Otogi who was also thin like Kaiba and dressed in a sparkly sapphire dress that had a slit up to his knee on the right side. He had shoulder length brown hair that was curly at the end, and his once green eyes now turned brown. One of the security men was applying his red lipstick before helping him with his jewelry.

The largest transformation was Jounouchi. His wig was curly and jet black. The hair rested down against his shoulder blades. He wore a red dress with a scarf that tied to his neck and dropped down his right side. The dress covered all of his legs. His eyes were now sky blue and his skin was pale like the moonlight. They all walked along the plane, making sure that they were able to move comfortably in their outfits and shoes.

Roland nodded and watched the security leave through the same door they came into. "Now everyone needs to pair up besides Mokuba-sama. He's Kaiba-sama's agent who is the only actress on board. Honda-san and Otogi-san, I'm assuming you two would be together."

"I'll be Kaiba's date," Atemu said.

"Good. Now, we'll be going out the back entrance. A van is waiting for you. From there it will take you to the townhouse and park in the garage. Once the door is shut you won't have to pretend. Until then make it seem like you guys are in love with each other and on your vacation."

Atemu wrapped his arm around Kaiba's waist. Kaiba did the same. They walked carefully down the stairs and slid quickly into the van. Honda and Otogi shared a kiss at the top of the stairs before walking hand in hand down to the van. Yugi wrapped his arm around Jounouchi's waist. Jounouchi placed his one hand in Yugi's that was resting on his waist and his other hand directly behind his back, stroking it. Mokuba came down last, holding a binder that he was looking at and pretending to talk on headset connected to the phone in his other hand. He hung up the phone and took the small ear piece out. Roland came in last, shutting the door as he got in. They all sighed in relief and turned to the windows, watching the scenery go by during their long trip to the townhouse.

The townhouse was large but wasn't extravagant. They left the van and walked immediately into the kitchen. The place was spotless and almost void of any other color but black and white. The small group of people didn't know what to do. Kaiba broke away from everyone. "I don't know what any of you are planning on doing, but I need a shower and to change my clothes. We can talk about our future plans later. Perhaps around dinner."

The brunet disappeared through one of the archways leading into the main hallway. Jounouchi watched him climb up the stairs. "I'm in the same boat as Kaiba. You guys can do what you want." He glanced over at Mokuba. "I'll talk to him. I'll make sure he's okay." He patted the shorter teen's head and walked up the stairs. He entered the only room that had its door shut. Kaiba already had the shoes and jewelry off. He was struggling with the zipper in the back of the dress. The blond very gently moved the hair out of the way and slowly unzipped the dress. He ran his fingers over Kaiba's bare shoulders. "You make a very believable and beautiful woman," he whispered into Kaiba's ear.

"I don't know whether to say thank you or feel insulted that you think I'm girly. I could also say the same about you." Kaiba let the blond slowly push the dress down to the floor. He stepped out of the object and reached up to toss the wig on the floor. "Is there something you needed, Jounouchi, because I would loved to..." The rest of his sentence was cut off by the blond sealing their lips together. Slowly the ex-duelist backed Kaiba against the bed. He guided both of them down and onto the smooth red silk sheets.

The two broke apart with the urge of much needed air. "What has come over you?" Kaiba whispered, planting small kisses on the side of Jounouchi's neck.

"I thought I was going to lose you again. I thought I would never have this opportunity and wanted to show you how much you mean to me."

Kaiba pulled Jounouchi's wig off and ran his fingers through the soft blond locks. His eyes softened as he stared into Jounouchi's eyes. He could understand what the blond was saying. He had a similar feeling. "We should take a shower before taking this in the direction I think you're going. I don't want to make love to my boyfriend as a girl. I want the musky smell, not that perfume they put on you. I don't want to taste the wax of lipstick or the cotton of foundation." The brunet rose and pulled Jounouchi up with him. "Come take a shower with me."

Jounouchi smiled and quickly pulled the dress over his head. By the time he was completely naked and the door securely locked, Kaiba was also nude and adjusting the water temperature. The brunet shivered and stepped into the shower. Water streamed down his thin frame, causing the blond to pause in his step. Kaiba was truly beautiful, no matter what he wore and what happened to him. The ex-duelist shook his head and stepped into the stream of water. He grabbed a washcloth and started to slowly wash the foundation off Kaiba's face, arms and chest. He kissed his lover deeply, tasting the water and wax that formed on his lips. Kaiba closed his eyes and leaned against the back of the shower, allowing Jounouchi's callused fingers to run various patterns over his body. He moved with the blond, giving him every kiss he asked for.

Once his body felt fresher and free of the make-up, he returned the favor. He washed Jounouchi's body carefully, running his fingers over the flesh. He kissed and licked every spot he cleaned. Even though the two were becoming lost in their passion, neither of them touched below the waist. They knew that once that line was crossed there was no going back. As much as Kaiba wanted Jounouchi, he didn't want their first time in the shower of their hideout. Kaiba reached behind the blond and turned the now cold water off. He watched the water slowly slid off the blond. He leaned closer, licking the trail of water off Jounouchi's cheek.

He slowly stepped out of the shower, making sure his feet touched the towel he placed in front of the tub earlier. Without even bothering to dry themselves off, Kaiba pulled his lover into the bedroom and pushed him down on the bed. Jounouchi smiled up at him, now happy that Kaiba's blue eyes returned. Even though Kaiba was beautiful as a woman, that was nothing compared to how he was now with those stunning sapphire orbs. The brunet lowered himself down and pulled Jounouchi into a deep kiss. He traced the blond's lips before pushing his tongue pass the barrier of his lover's lips. He moaned as he tasted Jounouchi. The two tongues battled for dominance in Jounouchi's mouth, but the ex-duelist knew that he wasn't going to win. He arched his back, feeling the cold air against his hot erection. He moaned as Kaiba shifted and grinded his hip against his member. The mere friction caused Jounouchi's eyes to flutter shut and a deep moan broke through their connected mouths.

Kaiba lifted himself up and stared into Jounouchi's chocolate eyes. He wanted to take control and ravish the blond. Make him feel all the pleasure and love he held in his heart for the shorter man. But, something in the back of his mind caused him to pause. Jounouchi was more of the dominate person by nature. He would always fight for what he wanted and no one would ever describe him was a submissive person. Kaiba frowned and traced patterns on the blond's chest. He could give control over to Jounouchi. In fact, to finally not be in control of something sounded appeasing to him. All his life he had to be in control and take care of someone else. For once he wanted someone else to take care of him, but could he really relinquish control to Jounouchi. The answer was obvious. He trusted the blond more than anyone. But the horror of his captivity continuously pounded in the back of his mind. He didn't want to lose control again.

He opened the eyes he didn't remember shutting when he felt the gentle touch on his cheek. He looked down at Jounouchi. "It's okay," he softly whispered, "You can take me. I want you to do what you want to do. Take control of everything. Give me what you want to give me; take what you want to take. Don't bring those bastards here. Not now. Make love to me. Ignore those men that took something from you."

Tears collected at the side of Kaiba's eyes, but he refused to let them fall. The whole time while Kaiba was arguing with himself, Jounouchi had already come up with the solution. It meant a lot to him. He reached down and slid his fingers along the underside of Jounouchi's member. The warm organ twitched and pre-cum leaked from it. He smiled and shifted his body so he lied with his head between Jounouchi legs. Without warning or hesitation, the CEO took the blond into his mouth, swallowing him until he reached the base. Jounouchi's pubic hairs tickled his nose, but the deep breath he took brought the blond's scent into his body. He sucked strongly, pulling a cry from Jounouchi's mouth. He licked his way back up, nibbling gently on the head. "Shh or else everyone in the house will know what we're doing."

Jounouchi groaned and tossed a pillow at Kaiba. "Well excuse me! Some selfish bastard just put me entirely in his mouth and strongly sucked. It was unexpected."

"So I shouldn't do that again."

The blond growled. "Don't threaten me like that. I'm just informing you that if you're going to do that, I'm going to scream. Next time get a soundproof room."

The CEO chuckled, feeling the stress and worry from earlier fading away. He tossed the pillow back up to Jounouchi. "Use that to muffler your noise while I play."

Jounouchi rolled his eyes and placed the pillow beside him. Kaiba chuckled before pulling the erect member back into his mouth. This time he slowly moved downward, sucking and licking as he went. Sweat appeared on Jounouchi's brow, and his teeth bit down on his lip. He tried to muffle the moans, but everything felt heavenly. Confidence returned to the CEO. He continued to suck and play with every pleasure point he could find. He ran his fingers along the side of Jounouchi's thigh, twirling his fingers on certain spots that resulted in more moans from the struggling quiet blond.

Growing tired of Kaiba testing his resolve, Jounouchi moved his one leg up slightly and used his foot to slowly stroke his lover's member. The brunet instantly let go of Jounouchi's member and gasped. "You are a very naughty puppy," Kaiba whispered, licking his lips.

Jounouchi smiled, loving the sight of confidence back in Kaiba's eyes. "What are you going to do? Punish me?" The blond screamed slightly as Kaiba flipped him over and pulled his legs over his lap. The blond moaned and slowly humped Kaiba's leg. He didn't know how much longer he could hold on. His movements suddenly stopped when he felt a sharp slap on his backside. He blinked and looked up at Kaiba. "Did you just spank me?"

"You're being very naughty. What fun would it be if you got off on my leg?"

The blond instantly lifted himself up and flipped Kaiba onto his back. He crawled until he was facing down towards Kaiba's legs and pulled his erect member into his mouth. The CEO gasped, losing himself for a moment. He moaned to the vibration and reached up to the nightstand, knocking over the lamp, neither one of them cared for the lost item. Finally, Kaiba was able to get the drawer open and reached inside. He ruffled blindly through the containments until he felt something that could be used. He opened his eyes for a second and smiled at his luck. It was massaging oil. He coated his fingers and placed one at the blond's entrance. He twirled his finger around the small hole, feeling Jounouchi moan around his member. He suddenly stopped and let a deep moan to escape his lips. He felt himself getting close.

The brunet slid a finger inside of Jounouchi. The blond released Kaiba's member and moaned. The strange feeling didn't hurt, but didn't feel bad. He placed his head down on Kaiba's knees while the slightly older male continued to play with his entrance. He inserted another finger in and brushed both fingers across Jounouchi's prostate. The blond shot up and cried out. "Oh gods, Kaiba! You need to hurry." Kaiba agreed, but continued until he had three fingers thrusting easily in and out of Jounouchi. It was hard to keep control with the blond swaying above him. Kaiba flipped Jounouchi around, kissing him firmly on the lips. The CEO coated his member and tossed the bottle on the floor. Kaiba pulled his lover into his lap and looked directly into his eyes. He slowly lowered the blond down onto his member. Both of them moaned. Kaiba closed his eyes, trying to keep himself from moving while Jounouchi's body adjusted to him.

The blond gave a slight hop in Kaiba's lap and wrapped his legs tightly around his waist. Kaiba placed his hands on Jounouchi's hips and slowly lifted him up before letting gravity slid him back down. It was difficult controlling their moans, and it suddenly didn't matter that they weren't the only ones in the house. The CEO slowly picked up the pace, becoming more and more desperate for that release he craved. He flipped them over, pinning Jounouchi to the sheets below him. The blond spread his legs as far as they could go and moved in harmony with the brunet. "I'm going to..." he started to say, but Kaiba reached between them and squeezed the base of Jounouchi's member.

"Not yet," he hissed. "Hold on for a few more minutes."

The blond whined and struggled to keep his release at bay. Kaiba placed both hands at either side of Jounouchi's head and thrust into the blond with enough force to slam the headboard against the wall. The blond came seconds later, coating both of their chests and stomachs with his semen. The CEO did the same seconds later, coating the inside of his blond lover.

Kaiba's arms gave out and he came crashing down on Jounouchi. The blond wrapped his arms around the tired brunet, stroking his back while the two of them gasped for breath. Kaiba slowly pulled his softened organ out of Jounouchi and hissed at the small amount of blood. "I'm sorry. Why didn't you say I was hurting you?"

"You weren't," Jounouchi answered sleepily. "Don't you know when it's your first time or if you haven't done it in awhile, the likelihood of causing blood no matter how much you prepare is higher than someone who's been having sex for awhile. It's okay, Kaiba. I'm just a little sore, but it's a wonderful sore."

He pulled the CEO back into his arms and held him close. Kaiba sighed softly and placed his head on Jounouchi's chest. "You'll wake me if something hurts?"

"Of course. Now, let's get some sleep. Tomorrow we can clean this mess up."

Kaiba nodded and kissed Jounouchi's shoulder. The blond used his feet to pull the blanket up to his hands and placed it over the both of them. Even though he locked the door, he didn't trust that someone would have a key to the room and come in. The last thing he wanted was Mokuba or his friends seeing them naked. At least the cover could fool them for a little bit. He brushed Kaiba's hair out of his closed eyes and sighed softly. He felt wonderful at that moment and hoped that for once Kaiba wouldn't have those nightmares that plagued him. The blond rested his head back against the pillow and slowly closed his eyes. They defiantly had to do that many times in the future.

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I hope you like this chapter. The next chapter will be upload like usual on Friday. Thank you all for reading please review.

Angel Dove


	14. Chapter 14

Thank you for your kind reviews. This is another average sized chapter. There's a little bit of humor in this chapter. I figured I could add some to break some of the tense. Hopefully it flows nicely in this chapter. I'm not very good at humor.

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Chapter Fourteen

The next morning Jounouchi woke before Kaiba. His body screamed and demanded that he wouldn't move. He hissed from the soreness as he slowly limped into the bathroom. After a hot shower, Jounouchi felt better and got dressed, without waking Kaiba. He moved carefully downstairs and into the large kitchen. There sitting at the island were all of his friends including Mokuba. He didn't know what to make of the strange faces on some of them and the smirks on the others. "Is there something the matter?" he asked, walking over to the sink for a glass of water.

"Are you hungry?" Honda asked, reaching for a banana out of the bowl of fruit that sat on the table and opened it slightly. He tossed it to the unexpected blond.

Jounouchi fumbled the banana before finally catching it, however he squeezed tightly and the mashed banana went all over the floor and his hands. "Honda!" Jounouchi shouted. "Don't do that. I ruined that perfectly good banana."

"Does that mess remind you of something?" Otogi teased.

"What are you talking about?" The blond used a paper towel to clean up the mess before washing his hands.

"You two had fun last night," Atemu said with a smirk.

Yugi smacked his lover. "Be nice. How would you feel if it was us?"

"I'd be proud if I made you scream like that."

Jounouchi blushed. "You guys are horrible! I've never commented on the amount of noise any of you made."

"We never slept with our enemy before. Oh wait, you two aren't enemies any more. What would you classify yourselves?" Honda wondered.

"Enemies with benefits," Otogi laughed.

Jounouchi face continued to redden. He was completely focused on his friends teasing him that he didn't notice Kaiba entering. "Enough," the brunet said firmly. Everyone in the room stopped talking and stared up at the glaring CEO. Kaiba walked to the center of the room and stood in front of Jounouchi. "No one is allowed to tease Jounouchi but me." He pulled back a chair and sat down. "Now, let's discuss this. Jounouchi was hot and tight. He wiggled like a fish and grinded like an animal in heat."

"Kaiba!" Jounouchi shouted.

"Nii-sama, I did not need to hear that."

The room busted in laughter. The brunet smirked and glanced back at the blond. His red face was mainly covered by his bangs. Kaiba reached back and grabbed him. He pulled until Jounouchi landed in his lap. He kissed his cheek before wrapping his arms around his waist. The blond struggled for a second before sitting with his back against Kaiba. "Since we are discussing my sex life. I think it's only fair I get to ask one question. How many of you also had sex after being turned on by us?"

"Yugi was too embarrassed and I know Mokuba didn't do anything. He came into our room to find something to plug his ears," Atemu answered quickly and unashamed.

"We humped like rabbits," Honda answered next.

Yugi blushed. "Can we please talk about something else!"

"Fine," Otogi said with a laugh, noticing that Jounouchi's face couldn't get any redder. He turned the topic back to something more serious. He did respect their privacy even though it was fun to tease the blond. "I do need to do something about my business as I'm sure Kaiba does as well. I haven't seen Roland yet today. Do you think he's alright?"

"I'm sure he's fine. He's probably supervising the security. They should have a secure internet signal soon. I hope you can access your desktop remotely."

"Of course. What business man can't?"

Kaiba smirked before letting Jounouchi off his lap and walked into the living room. The room was large with two couches, a love seat and two reclining chairs. A glass table sat in the middle of the two couches and had a fresh bouquet of flowers. Directly above the fireplace on the far wall was a large flat screen television. The CEO moved pass the room and into the smaller room to the left of the living room. He could hear voices coming from the closed door. He opened the door without knocking and the voices stopped. A group of men surrounded a circler wooden table with various pictures and technology on it. To Kaiba it looked like a work in process, to others it would look like a mess of random items. Roland sat behind the desk in front of the large window with the drapes pulled shut.

"How is everything?" Kaiba asked, not noticing that his group of friends stayed close to the door.

Roland typed a few words on the keyboard in front of him. "Everything should be ready in a few minutes to a half hour. I checked for any signs of someone following us and there were none. Apparently the war on the Kaiba estate made headlines everywhere. The press is only releasing our information and nothing else. They were strictly warned not to go looking for anything. I informed them that you and Mokuba-sama weren't at home, and the army was a direct attack against Kaiba Corp."

"What about our men?"

Roland frowned. "Most of them died. After we left so did the army. None of the police were involved, but they do want to talk to you. I told them it wasn't safe to bring you or Mokuba-sama anywhere in public and didn't mention that you weren't in the country. They didn't like that answer but that's the least of our concern."

Kaiba sat across from Roland. "Make sure the families of the deceased are well compensated. If you contact the police again let them know we'll speak over the phone, but I won't return until those men are behind bars. How is your leg?"

"Nothing to worry about, Kaiba-sama." A small beep came from the computer in front of him. "The internet is ready. There are two laptops set up in the dining room. I know you and Otogi-san will need it. The internet may be slow at times since it's bouncing every couple minutes. Any problems come see us."

"Thank you," Kaiba said and stood from his seat. "All of you, thank you for everything you've done." He looked at his friends and walked back out of the door. "I need to check stocks and answer emails. I'm sure I have hundreds. I'll be up in my bedroom." Kaiba walked first towards the dining room to retrieve the laptop before disappearing back upstairs.

"I need to do the same thing. I'll just work in the dining room," Otogi commented.

"I think the rest of us should relax in the living room. Maybe we'll be able to watch the news and see any reports on Kaiba Corp.," Jounouchi suggested. "I know Roland probably knows everything, but I would like to see it for myself."

"I agree," Atemu said. "It'll also keep us occupied until Otogi and Kaiba are finished with their work."

"I don't think Nii-sama would have it easy. I'll set a timer so that we all eat something for lunch. I think you'll have the best luck getting Nii-sama out of the bedroom, Jounouchi."

"Don't worry, Mokuba. I'll get him to eat."

Yugi chuckled at Jounouchi smirking face. He stood tall and proud like he was the victor of a race. "We all will. I still can't believe he hasn't gained much weight."

"That's because he lied to Mokuba and me at first, and we didn't question him enough. He would always tell us he ate at the office when he didn't."

Honda sat down on the one couch and reached for the remote. "He seems to be acting normally. Did he tell either of you what happened?"

"He told me," Jounouchi answered. "It was terrible and something I don't want to talk about unless he gives me permission. Last night, though, he seemed to get more of his confidence back. In fact, this morning I don't think he was pretending to be himself. I believe once we have all of this behind us, he should hopefully be close to his old self."

Mokuba smiled. "I can't tell you how much I missed him smiling or teasing like that. It's all thanks to you, Jounouchi."

The blond shook his head while he watched Honda flipping through the channels. "I just shared my story with him to encourage him to do the same. It's him that's doing all the work. He's the one that's pulling himself out of that dark hole he's been in."

"I agree with Mokuba. Someone can't just walk out of the darkness without a small glimmer of light. I know that from experience," Atemu said, smiling at Yugi.

"You are the epitome of sunshine. Just look at your physical body. You have golden hair and bright skin. Your aurora screams light. Even though Kaiba's essence is light as well, he had this dark cloud that hung over him. A cloud that I don't see too much of anymore. Give yourself more credit, Jounouchi." Yugi smiled at his friend, seeing the doubt in his eyes.

"I don't know. Kaiba is strong on his own. I don't think he would need much help from me."

"Oh please," Honda finally spoke up. He stopped at the first channel of news he found. "Will you stop doubting yourself and listen to your friends. You are so much more than what you say you are. This channel just advertised that they would have information on the shooting at the Kaiba mansion. I think this might be the best channel."

Jounouchi nodded, glad to have a change in subject. "Do you think we should write anything down?"

"No, I think we should be able to find whatever information we need either on the television or the internet."

The small group of friends sat around the living room, flipping between channels shocked with the amount of blood and chaos that was outside of the Kaiba mansion. Jounouchi felt horrible at all the lives lost. He couldn't believe that those people would want Kaiba badly enough that they would send an army to penetrate the house. He found himself losing interest on the television and entered into his own world. He wondered if they were safe and who would have enough money to hire that many people. He hoped the police would be able to find some information on the people that were captured or killed, especially since the doctor and the assassin that was arrested prior wasn't able to give them any information on the mastermind. Everything felt like a huge mess, and there was no way out at that moment. He turned his head and glanced at the hallway. Some of the security would pass by carrying equipment or installing their own cameras in various parts of the house. Otogi had returned after a few hours, caught up with his own work. Jounouchi wondered how Kaiba was doing. The brunet had yet to come downstairs. Mokuba's watch beeped, knocking Jounouchi from his thoughts.

He nodded to Mokuba and started climbing up the stairs while the others went to the kitchen to find something to eat. The blond knew that it was going to be difficult getting Kaiba away from his work. He silently prayed that the brunet would understand. He opened the door and found Kaiba sitting with his back against the headboard. His knees were bent, and he balanced the laptop on them. His fingers were quickly moving across the keyboard. "I suppose you're here to get me for lunch?"

"How did you guess?"

Kaiba rolled his eyes and placed the laptop on the bed. "I should have known you'd never let me skip a meal."

"I let you skip breakfast."

"That's only because you weren't hungry either." Kaiba slipped off the bed and walked over to the blond.

"How is everything?"

"A fucking mess. My first seventy emails were people asking if I was alright. Fifty were people trying to find out if we are closing the office until further notice. Once I got through all those emails, I finally find the ones from my secretary. She's canceling all my appointments until further notice and going to scan all documents I need to sign and email them to me. I'll need to get a printer and a scanner in here so I can sign them and send them back."

"Why not copy your signature into an image and paste them onto the document?"

"I need a hardcopy of each thing for my files. I'll have the send them back to her or just bring them home with me if this investigation doesn't take too long." Kaiba placed his hand on the Jounouchi's lower back and walked with him downstairs. "What have you been up to?"

"We've been watching the news. It's horrible. We're lucky to be alive. Apparently no one has images of the helicopter taking us away or the actually attack. It's all the aftermath."

"There's nothing we can do about that here. It'll have to wait until we get home. By then I'm sure Roland would have the mansion all cleaned and looking like nothing happened." Kaiba sighed and rubbed his eyes. "It'll probably take me the rest of the day and night to finish everything. Will you keep me informed of everything you see?"

"I was planning on it." Jounouchi kissed Kaiba as they reached the bottom of the stairs. "I'll also come get you for dinner if I don't see you before then."

"Okay. Just make sure it's ready before you get me. I need to spend as much time as possible working."

"Sure. Unless I think you need a break."

They walked into the kitchen just in time to see Yugi placing a tray of sandwiches in the middle of the bowel of fruit and a bowel of pretzels. Jounouchi took one plate from Honda and placed two sandwiches, a large handful of pretzels and an apple on it. He handed it to Kaiba. "You can't be serious? I can't eat all of that."

Jounouchi rolled his eyes. "Yes you can. You just choose not to. At least eat the sandwiches and pretzels. You can take the apple upstairs so you have something to snack on if you get hungry before dinner."

"Fine, but if I get sick you're taking care of me."

"Haven't I offered to do that anyway?"

Kaiba rolled his eyes before sitting down to eat the food. He was hungrier than he thought. The sandwiches and pretzels went down quickly and easily. The conversation was light and no one mentioned the reason they were there or work in general. Kaiba finished everything including the apple before disappearing back upstairs with more pretzels and a glass of iced tea for later.

Jounouchi smiled proudly at his retreating form before diving into the left over sandwiches. He was still starving. Mokuba chuckled and teased him about still being their garbage disposal. The group of friends decided to spend the rest of the afternoon watching a movie on the living room television and keeping updates on the news with Otogi's laptop. The movie seemed to calm them, and it became a unanimous vote that they would bring Kaiba down for a movie later on that night.

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I hope that was okay. I'll have the next chapter up on Monday. We are getting closer to the end of this story. Thank you for reading please review.

Angel Dove


	15. Chapter 15

Thank you once again for your kind reviews. This chapter is another short one but the next chapter will be the longest chapter I have ever written. I'm setting up the ending now.

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Chapter Fifteen

Each day seemed to follow the same routine. The amount of news covering the incident lessened as days went by. Kaiba found he was able to finish all of his work before dinner and was now watching movies with everyone to relax in the evening. He made love to Jounouchi several times, but they managed to keep themselves quiet as to not disturb anyone else in the house. Life seemed perfect in that townhouse. Neither one of the occupants ever disturbed anyone else. The only problem Kaiba had was the continuously missing information to their attackers. He couldn't comprehend how someone could remain that long off the radar. He was still none the wiser of the person behind it all. None of his competitors showed any signs of taking advantage of his kidnapping and the mass murder on his property. In fact, they all seemed to be respectfully staying away from him.

The CEO growled as Roland told him that they still were unable to find any leads. He was feeling like a caged bird that needed to spread his wings. He didn't want to put anyone in danger, but he felt that he needed to go back to Japan to make his enemies take their next shot. Unfortunately, no one would ever let him go alone, not even Roland who seemed to want to catch these people more than Kaiba. He even checked internally, but no one was making any moves that seemed out of the ordinary.

Finally after two weeks of being locked away in that townhouse, Kaiba discovered a lead. He was watching the stock very closing, looking for anyone that wanted to buy or sell stocks in his company. He found an abnormity with the stock that was sold at a high price and bought again at a much lower price. The names on the two transactions seemed similar like someone was passing the stock between themselves and buy new ones. He printed out the report and ran it down to Roland. Upon further investigation, they found that the person buying and selling was working for the same company. It took them much longer but it was discovered that the person was the same. One Tanaka Hiroshi. Kaiba glared at the picture of the slick black haired man, recognizing him as one of the men constantly requesting a meeting with him. He always wanted the same thing, a position on the board or a portion of the company. Neither one Kaiba was willing to give the man. He was obviously some looking to take over his company.

Roland walked into Kaiba's room holding several papers. "Kaiba-sama, it appears that Tanaka-san has been very busy with his money."

"Did he have enough to hire an army?"

"I would believe so, but there doesn't seem to be a large sum of money missing from his personal or business accounts. There is a secret operation that he keeps depositing money in every week. It has potential of being the evidence you're looking for. I stopped digging as of right now. I don't want him knowing that he's being investigated until we can trap him."

"I agree. Uncover anything in his past that could link him to anyone in Special Forces or part of the underground. I'll finish what I'm doing here and investigate the company instead of Hiroshi. If we discover enough, I want to move back to Domino and take him head on."

"Are you sure that's wise?"

"I'll have the police and Domino's Special Forces behind me. If we can get the leader, the army won't have any funding."

"We'll plan this better once we have more information."

"Agreed."

"Again, call if you need anything." Roland bowed and left the room, returning to his security room.

It took Roland and Kaiba several more days to finally retrieve enough information to formulate a plan. Everyone gathered in the living room late one night. The security sat at the far end while Kaiba and his friends sat at the middle. Roland stood around the table handing out papers and pictures on Tanaka Hiroshi. "Please forgive me, but I'll be speaking more in terms easier for my security. If that becomes uncomfortable or confusing for any of you, let me know," the tall man addressed the small group of friends.

"What you have in front of you is a picture of our target, Tanaka Hiroshi. Tanaka has been, for two years now, exchanging and buying the same stock value for Kaiba Corp. between himself and one of his aliases as well as slowly buying more. The information provided by Kaiba-sama reflects that the same value was exchanged at the same time each month. It seemed unexpected from a man that managed to hide Kaiba-sama for a year and had no evidence that he was linked to the men that attacked Kaiba-sama and the manor. It was also discovered that he transfers a large sum of money every month to a secret project. The money transferred was a consistent amount of money during the twelve months Kaiba-sama was missing. Then, he didn't transfer any money for a couple months. It's noted in his records that the project was suspended. However, just last month, he transferred a considerable amount into that fund. Conveniently several days later, an army showed up at the Kaiba estate."

Roland flipped through a couple pages. "It is not one hundred percent clear that he is responsible; however, Kaiba-sama said that he's been trying to become a member of the board or buy the company. All times, Kaiba-sama refused. Another piece of evidence was the kidnapper's persistence to get the security codes. With that, Tanaka would become the secret owner. He would still need Kaiba-sama to be in the public eye for that plan to work, which explains why he was never killed. That is until he could make it public information that he is the new owner. Now let's move onto the plan.

Tanaka makes frequent visits to a house on the out squirts of Domino. It is not clear what he does there, but his security is less at that place than when he is at the office. That is the prime location to capture him. With the forces we have left over it would be difficult to capture him. We have approval from the Prime Minister to use the army only for capture. He has seen the evidence provided and is in agreement that Tanaka is up to something. He wants to be sure that Tanaka isn't doing anything that would harm Japan. Once Tanaka is captured, he will be then transported to a secure bunker which a combination of our forces and the army will guard."

Roland placed the papers down on the table. "Because everything is time sensitive and important to the safety of our charges, the location of the bunker will only be provided upon capture of Tanaka Hiroshi. The timeline will be as follows. Early tomorrow morning everyone will be disguised as they arrived and enter the airplane through the same doorways they exited. Once on board our charges will change clothes. We will land back in Domino hopefully around nighttime. We will proceed out the front entrance of the airplane while our charges and I will sneak out the back.

From there, we will take two vans and two different routes to a hideout known only to myself and Taki, who will be driving the van holding all of you. Once there, we will begin our plan of capturing Tanaka while our charges remain safe at the hideout. They will remain there until it is confirmed that Tanaka is behind everything and the location of the man in charge of Kaiba-sama's kidnapping. When we reach that time further instructions will be provided. Any questions?" When no one responded Roland nodded to the men and continued. "Everyone is dismissed. Make your preparations now before assuming your position. Thank you."

All the men got up and moved out of the dining room. Roland turned his gaze towards the remaining people. "Do you object to the plan, Kaiba-sama?"

"Of course not. I trust you to handle everything. Has our clothes been delivered to our rooms?"

"Yes. We'll have enough time in the morning for breakfast and there will be a meal on the airplane as per Mokuba-sama's orders. I'm sorry, sir, but I'm in agreement with him. You need to gain more weight. If there is anything you and Otogi-san need to finish for your companies now would be a good time to do it. About midnight, we'll shut everything down. We need time to pack everything away."

"That's understandable. Thank you, Roland." Kaiba rose. "I'll be upstairs for the remainder of the night."

Jounouchi watched Kaiba move out of the room. "I think I'll spend time with him. I'll make sure he's not over stressing himself. See you all tomorrow."

Yugi placed his hand on Jounouchi's. "Remember to take care of yourself as well."

"I will. Good night, everyone."

The blond moved upstairs and entered the room. Kaiba was in the same position he always was with the laptop balancing in his lap instead of on his knees. He looked up at Jounouchi for a second before turning his gaze back down to the screen. The ex-duelist lifted one side of the blanket up and slid underneath it. He was going to shower and go to sleep, but his body felt too tired to even accomplish that task. The stress of having to constantly look over his shoulder was exhausting him, and he was sure Kaiba was more fatigue since he had to deal with his company as well.

Jounouchi snuggled close to Kaiba and sighed. The brunet ran his fingers through the blond locks before going back to typing. He knew Jounouchi was antsy to have this whole event behind him. The CEO feared that something would go wrong within the next couple of days, but he kept that to himself. Everyone was stressing about something and he didn't want to put that burden on someone else. He watched the blond close his eyes and his breathing even out. He thought he would have to fight with Jounouchi about going to bed, but again the blond shocked him. Kaiba looked at the emails one last time before shutting the laptop off. He leaned over and placed it on the nightstand, slipping under the covers. He wrapped his arms around Jounouchi and kissed his forehead. "I will protect you," he whispered, making that vow courageous and determined.

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The next chapter will be uploaded on Wednesday. It'll have a lot in it so I hope I don't overwhelm anyone. I'll take another couple looks at it before I upload it again. Thank you all for reading. Please Review.

Angel Dove


	16. Chapter 16

Happy Halloween, everyone! I've been real busy getting this chapter together plus my other Halloween treat for everyone with my other story. Thank you again for wonderful reviews. Again, this is a warning that this chapter is my longest I have ever written. There didn't seem like a good place to stop it so I kept it all in the same chapter. I went through it several times before deciding that it's ready. Hopefully you will all like it. There are only two other chapters left after this.

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Chapter Sixteen

The next morning was more hectic than originally planned. They all managed to eat breakfast unfortunately it was on the ride to the airport. Reports came in of suspicious people asking strange questions around London. They were quickly dressed in their same outfits and left in the same van. Roland made sure that it sounded like they checked out earlier and was sightseeing before going back to their airplane. They boarded and took off with no other incident. The ride returning to Domino was completely different from their departure. None of them slept and didn't talk for most of the ride. Kaiba kept himself occupied by watching the clouds go by. This was the first time he was on an airplane and didn't either sleep or work on his computer the entire time. He felt restless and before he knew it, he was snoozing.

They landed late in the night. The airport was almost deserted and completely dark on the opposite side of the airplane. They quickly got in their vans and drove to the hideout. Everyone remained silent, afraid to say anything that may jinx them. Yugi kept himself close to Atemu and gripped his hand as tightly as he could. Atemu showed no signs of pain or signaling for Yugi to lighten his grip. Mokuba sat near Kaiba in the middle row of the van, keeping one eye on his older brother and another eye outside. Even though they were traveling in the dark to help cover their tracks, it still made the young man nervous. It was difficult to see anyone or anything that may be hiding in the shadows. Jounouchi, Honda and Otogi sat in the far back. Otogi kept looking out the window while Honda remained facing forward watching the scenes pass through the front windshield. Jounouchi sat slightly on the end of the seat with his leg up on the seat. He placed his arm on the back of the seat to keep his balance. He watched everything through the back window. He wanted to make sure he spotted someone following them.

The whole ride went without incident, and they arrived at a very dark building. The outside was in horrible shape. Ivy ran up the side of the walls and trash mixed with overgrown weeds in the front lawn. The windows had boards over them and the porch was full of holes. They stepped over the holes and pushed the squeaky door open. The inside looked worse than the outside. The downstairs had broken furniture in almost every room. The carpet was stained and torn. Roland led them up the stairs. When he opened the door to the second floor everything changed dramatically. Light shined everywhere. The carpet was a spotless beige color. The walls were painted white. There were chairs surrounding a table and a television in the back corner. Roland led them down the hallway that separated several doorways. "These are the bedrooms. I know there isn't much space, but this is only temporarily. At the very end of the hallway is the kitchen. It has already been stocked with enough food and drink to last two months for all of you. There is a telephone in the common room that has my phone number programmed into it. It should only be used in case of emergency. Most of the men will be leaving with me early tomorrow morning. None of the men left here will be up here with you or on the first floor. They'll be hidden around the area. No one should know you are here. You will be safe," Roland said with confidence. "When everything is completed, I will come back for you myself. Until then, I tried to get some movies that would entertain you. The television is set up for cable. Remember, don't leave this floor."

"Of course. Stay safe, Roland," Kaiba answered for them and walked with the older man back to the door. Surprisingly, the man had made a complete recovery in the time they were in London. He looked back at his friends who were taking seats around the table. "Do you mind if I watch the news?"

Jounouchi placed the DVD's down and handed Kaiba the remote. "I don't. I think it would be easier finding out what has been happening now that we're back in Domino. I'm going to see what is in the kitchen to eat and make us something for dinner." Jounouchi wasn't hungry but cooking usually calms his nerves.

"I'll help," Yugi volunteered, followed closely by his darker half.

Otogi played with a part of his hair, observing the quiet man. "Are you okay, Kaiba?"

"I'm fine. Antsy to get this over with." Mokuba quietly watched the exchange. His brother seemed different that night and more willing to talk. It made him happy to finally hear his brother opening up to someone other than Jounouchi. Kaiba glanced over at him and smiled softly.

"I agree," Honda said. "I know I didn't say it before, but I appreciate everything you did. Who knows what would have happened to us if you left us here."

"Actually, I didn't order them to bring you to Kaiba Corp. the night we were attacked. They did that on their own. You should be thanking Roland more than me. I wasn't thinking clearly."

"You assigned people to begin with didn't you?" Kaiba nodded while Honda continued. "Then you started something. You made them realize that you were protective of us. Even though they acted on their own, you were the one that encouraged them to do that."

Kaiba sighed. "You have a point, but I still don't want your gratitude until everything is settled. It's my fault you are all involved."

The three remained quiet for a few minutes before Otogi turned to Kaiba. "Is Jounouchi okay?"

"As far as I know. Why?"

"He's eating and talking less."

"He's probably concerned about me. He did that the first week we got back together."

"Were you trying to protect him when you pushed him away?"

Kaiba sighed and glanced down the hallway. "I didn't know who those people were. I didn't want anything happening to him, and I knew that I couldn't protect him like I would be able to with Mokuba. I didn't want to hurt his pride. Mokuba is used to me being the overprotective brother."

"That's right, Nii-sama. Though I don't think you would have hurt Jounouchi if you did the same to him. I think he would understand."

"I know that know, but at that time I wanted nothing more than to protect him from a distance. I couldn't tell you how much I missed his presence. I never thought I would crave something badly enough to disrupt my thoughts."

"Would you have eventually come to get him back?" Honda asked.

"Of course. I love him. I want him in my life."

Yugi and Atemu walked into the room carrying several glasses of juice. "There's no place to eat in the kitchen. We'll have to eat out here," Atemu said.

"I figured as much," Kaiba commented. "Does he need any help?"

"No. He actually kicked us out because we were getting in his way. The kitchen is very small."

"What's he making?" Honda asked.

"Something with chicken."

"It's probably lemon garlic chicken with rice and mixed vegetables."

"What makes you say that, Kaiba?"

"It's one of my favorite dinners. He started making it a lot after he found out I like it."

"That's fine with me. I like anything Jounouchi makes," Honda said, sipping his drink.

Jounouchi walked out a half hour later with four plates balancing in his hands. The food gave off a bit of steam and a delicious aroma as he handed them to four people. "I'll be back with the rest. Does anyone need refills on their drinks?"

Everyone shook their heads before staring down at the food. "When did he start becoming a gourmet chef?" Otogi questioned.

"When we moved in together. Honda and I decided to go to college for a few years before starting work. He volunteered himself in-between three jobs. We couldn't get him to stop doing that. He worked more than us."

"I thought the government helped with his father's medical bills."

"They did but not the debt he accumulated before Jounouchi had him committed. In a year Jounouchi managed to pay it off. Don't ask me how. I don't even know how much he made at each job, but I know he never spent any money on himself during that time. He never told me anything." Yugi instantly stopped talking when he heard Jounouchi walking back but not before seeing a strange curiosity on Kaiba's face. "He doesn't know much about Jounouchi's life after we graduated," Yugi thought.

The blond looked at the four still full plates. "Is something wrong?" He handed out the other plates.

"No," Honda answered quickly. "We were waiting for you before eating."

"Good. I thought you guys didn't like it."

"How can we not? You cook better than most women," Otogi commented after taking his first bite.

"How would you know? You've been gay since we first met."

"That didn't stop women from trying to seduce me with food."

"You ate everything girls made you?"

"Why not? I'm not wasting food."

Jounouchi stared in shock. "They might have been trying to poison you."

The raven haired man blinked a few times. "I never thought of that. Are you trying to poison me?"

"Ha! If I wanted to, you'd be dead by now, especially after you put me in that dog suit."

"I didn't force you into that. You challenged me and agreed to any of my terms."

"You could have done something more dignified."

"You're right. Women clothing would have been better. If I would have known you were that sexy in a dress, I would have done that. You are too muscular. I would have never thought you'd be that beautiful. I'd date you dressed in drag."

"Hey," Kaiba nearly shouted and pulled Jounouchi out of his seat. The blond struggled to hold his plate and managed not to spill a drop while Kaiba pulled him into his lap. "He's mine."

Otogi rolled his eyes. "A blind and deaf person would know that."

Atemu chuckled. "I agree. You might want to release him though before you lose him. Dogs are only loyal to those who treat them nice."

"Or feed them the best foods," Honda added.

"What's with all the dog comments? You think I didn't hear them enough. That's one thing I didn't..." Jounouchi trailed off and glanced over at the door.

"What's wrong?" The CEO asked, letting Jounouchi up.

"I thought I heard something."

"Maybe it was one of the men," Honda suggested

"I thought Roland said they wouldn't be downstairs." The blond moved towards the door. Everyone remained silent, but no one stopped him.

The door slammed opened. Jounouchi tried to move away, but a large man grabbed him. He brought his knee up and connected it with the man's groin. The man gasped and let go of his captive. Jounouchi moved away from the man but someone else grabbed him from behind. He stepped backwards and forced the person over his shoulder. He kicked the hooded man in the face and moved a third time. But his luck ran out. Standing directly in front of him was another hooded man holding Yugi's arms behind his back with one hand and a gun pointed at Yugi's head. "Stop moving," the man said firmly.

Someone slammed something against the back of his neck. Jounouchi saw nothing for a second before collapsing on the ground. He groaned and didn't have a chance to fight the person tying him to a chair. When he recovered, he noticed everyone was in the same position. They were surrounded by a group of at least ten people all dressed in black, wearing hoods and glasses and held guns of various shapes and sizes. The one man stood in the middle of the messy floor. He sneered at the food and plates that were dropped before turning his gaze to all his captives. "Well aren't you a hard man to find," he said, turning his gaze to address Kaiba. "We weren't expecting you to have a quick escape plan. I commend you. But, you have a lousy return. Nice try hiding yourselves in the night, but we knew you'd have to come back eventually. We almost lost you in the drive here. It was even harder getting pass your guards. Sorry, Kaiba, you lost more men."

"What do you want?"

"Same thing as last time. The only difference is we'll get it." The man walked over to Mokuba and pulled on his hair until his head was tilted back. Mokuba hissed but did nothing more. The captor traced the gun along Mokuba's chin. "There's so many ways to get that information. All you have to do is give us the codes and no one gets hurt."

"What if I told you that I no longer know them?"

"Then I suggest you find them. I know the perfect man that would love to have your brother as a slave. The things he would do to him are too graphic to say aloud." The man leaned down and whispered something into Mokuba's ear. The young man's eyes widened for a split second before he glared at the man.

Kaiba growled. "Take you hands off him."

"Are you going to get the codes?"

"I can't."

The man pistol whipped Mokuba, causing him to flip the chair on its back and pulling Mokuba with it. "Wrong answer. I don't have the patience to deal with you. My boss isn't happy with our progress."

"Tanaka Hiroshi?"

The man chuckled. "You were very busy while you were away. Were you planning on taking him head on? Is that why you came back? You should have stayed away. You might have lived longer." One of the other men picked Mokuba up and set the chair back on its legs. Mokuba tried to lick the blood from his lips but it still dripped down his chin. The leader ignored the glares Kaiba was giving him. He walked over to Jounouchi, running his hand over his shoulder. "Your lover here is a great fighter. I figured that just by looking at him. So did you try tying him to the bed?"

Kaiba remained silent, watching the man very carefully. He wanted to be able to judge if this situation was deadly enough for him to fold into their demands. He didn't like how the man was confidant enough to not fear time or anything else. The leader sat on Jounouchi's lap. "Not talking huh? Too bad I'm not a fag. I bet he's a great lay. Some of my boys though wouldn't mind." A few men laughed around the room. "If I let them. What do you think, Kaiba?"

The CEO glared at him. He felt his resolve crashing even though he showed no emotions outwardly. He didn't want to witness someone else being tortured or worse. He glanced at everyone else in the room. A few had scared expressions but others had glares just as furious as his. The brunet shifted his gaze back to Jounouchi. The blond stared into the man's glasses. He seemed to not care that someone was sitting on his lap threatening to have him raped by the other men. Kaiba slowly blinked his eyes and tried to calm his rapid heartbeat. Jounouchi wasn't showing any of his fear, and Kaiba wasn't going to give in.

The leader got up and walked to the center of the room again. He watched Kaiba very closely. The CEO was starting to break even though he hid it very well. The blond was defiantly important to Kaiba. He may be able to use him later to break him. He glanced around the room. "Looks like we have some new faces." He walked over to the smaller of the twins and stuck the barrel of the gun directly underneath Yugi's chin. "Now my men might like someone as muscular as blondie there, but if I were to pick my first male, I would prefer someone more feminine. You look like a beautiful petite woman."

Atemu growled and twisted his hands as far as they could go. "Don't touch him."

The man smirked. "Don't worry too much about your brother. I'll take real good care of him."

Atemu hissed and finally twisted his hand free. Blood dripped from his wrists but he managed to move fast enough to slam his hand into the leader's face. One of the men nearest to Atemu grabbed his arm and pulled him partly off the chair. He squeezed Atemu's wrist, sending him to kneel beside the chair. The leader wiped the small line of blood off his lip and glared. He moved down the hallway and kicked the doors open taking a quick look at the rooms.

He stormed back into the room and looked at all the men. "We're separating them. Put blondie and the smallest twin in one room. The other twin and Kaiba in another room. Those two in the last room and leaving the smallest Kaiba out here. Move," he barked.

The men cut their captives loose and pushed and struggled with them until they were in their assigned rooms. They slammed the doors shut and one man stood outside of each door. Kaiba recovered quickly from being pushed into the room. He ran over to Atemu and grabbed his arm, looking at the blood still dripping from the cuts. The former pharaoh hissed and tried to pull away. "Don't worry about me."

"You fool. You're going to bleed to death." Kaiba took his shirt off and wrapped it tightly around Atemu's wrists. "I can't believe you did something like that. You could have ripped your hand off or broken your wrist."

"Excuse me for not being able to sit there while someone is threatening to rape my lover. We need to get out of this room. I don't want Yugi alone with him."

"Jounouchi is with him. You know he won't let anything happen to Yugi. You have to calm down and think things through."

Atemu growled again and began pacing the room. He figured that if they tried pushing their way through the obviously unlocked door they wouldn't get far. Kaiba walked around the room, looking for anything they could use as a weapon. He just opened the drawer to the nightstand when he heard Yugi screaming something from his room. Atemu stormed to the door and was about the walk out when the door opened. The leader and another man walked into the room. The man grabbed the fuming male and slammed him against the bed.

Kaiba stood tall. "Leave everyone alone."

"Make your decision quickly. Get those codes or stay here and listen to their pain."

A loud scream echoed through the rooms. Atemu tried to push the man off and growled over at Kaiba. "If anything happens to Yugi, I'll never forgive you."

The silence that followed was more eerie than the screaming. Kaiba's defenses fell. "I need a phone, but I want everyone in the same room again."

"You don't get to call any shots."

"You won't get the codes."

The leader huffed before looking over at the other man in the room. "Bring that one but keep a firm grip on him." The leader grabbed Kaiba and pulled him back into the main room. Honda and Otogi came back in moment later. Neither one of them were hurt. They were pushed into a chair. Their captors pushed on Honda's shoulder and putting a gun at Otogi's head. Mokuba was still tied to the chair. The one man holding Atemu tied the stubborn man back up to the chair and pulled his gun out of his waist. He pointed it at Mokuba and looked over at his boss.

Kaiba turned to see them pulling Yugi back into the room. Tears streamed down his cheeks, and he held his left arm with his right. Jounouchi was close behind him, limping and his face was bloody and bruised. The blond stumbled and fell onto the floor near Kaiba. The CEO moved slightly towards him, but the leader stopped him and pushed a phone into his hand. He tossed the phone away and walked over to Jounouchi, ignoring the demands for him not to move. He knelt down in front of the blond, wishing he still had his shirt so he could wipe some of the blood off his face. "I'm sorry," he whispered before standing back up. He had to work quickly or else they would all be in danger of dying. The situation had change dramatically.

"I need the phone that's in the corner, but there are some conditions."

"Who says you get anything? Get those codes or blondie there won't be the only one bleeding and bruised."

Kaiba stood his ground. "Release all of them but me and you'll get your codes."

"I don't think so. I'm sure one of them knows how to switch the codes or how to get in contact with someone that could help you. Give me the codes and we walk out of the building. No more harm will come to your friends."

Kaiba sighed and finally came to his decision. He had to get those codes in order to protect his friends. There was no other way. Unless. The CEO's shoulders slumped. He took the phone from the leader and dialed the number. "Put it on speakerphone."

The brunet hit the button and listed to the ringing of the phone. Finally someone picked up. "Kaiba-sama, is something wrong?"

"No, I just need the security codes so I can access the company remotely from the hideout. Roland didn't have enough time to set everything up before he left. Can you get them for me?"

The man on the other end instantly went into motion. Kaiba had signaled that something was wrong. His fingers moved quickly over the keyboard. "Give me a few seconds, sir. The computer needs to connect and access the security system."

"Take your time I'm in no hurry." A laptop appeared on the table in front of Kaiba. He knelt down in front of it and waited for the codes. The man on the other end of the line alerted Kaiba's security along with Roland. He watched the codes come up in front of him and instantly activated the codes. These would last long enough to hopefully get the enemy away from Kaiba before becoming invalid.

"Are you ready, sir?"

"Yes." Kaiba typed in the long sequence of numbers, letters and symbols. Once he had everything in, the screen changed into the homepage. The stock values appeared in the top right corner and files to all open projects to the left. He moved away from the computer while the leader went to look at the website. "Thank you for your help."

"Anytime, Kaiba-sama. That's what I'm here for."

Kaiba ended the call and glanced over at the leader. "You have what you need. As long as you don't shut that computer down for twenty-four hours the new codes will flash across the top of the screen every morning at seven o'clock. As long as you keep updating the password you will have access forever. Leave."

The leader finished surfing through the files. "Everything checks out. Everyone out."

The group of men pushed away from their captives and walked out of the room. Kaiba stood there in shock for a few seconds. He couldn't believe that they actually left them all alive once the codes were into the computer. They had no idea if he was telling the truth. It was like they were only doing this for the money and had no interest in killing anyone but his guards. Or, they could still need him alive and realized that he would become uncooperative if they killed any of his friends. He shook himself out of his shock and ran over to Mokuba first. He quickly untied him and looked him over. His brother gave him a small smile before nodding in the direction of Jounouchi. He knew that Kaiba was most worried about Jounouchi. He was okay with that and he wasn't physically hurt. Kaiba hugged Mokuba, silently talking to him like they usually did before moving back over to Jounouchi. He knelt down in front of the blond. "Are you okay?"

Jounouchi pushed the CEO away. "Why did you give him the codes?" he shouted at him. "Now everyone knows all they have to do is kidnap and hurt the people closest to you and you'll do anything. I can't believe you gave in so easily."

"I didn't."

"What?"

"Those codes will work only for an hour. If they try to download anything or access anything vital to my company it will shut down sooner. I also alerted them that I was being held captive and asked for the codes under direst. The police should be on their way since Roland has all my security with him."

The blond stared at him. "They should have known you would do something like that. Why did they give up so easy?"

"I don't know. Sit on the chair." Kaiba disappeared down the hallway, shivering from the cold. Now that the adrenaline was calming, the CEO was freezing without his shirt. He walked into the kitchen and grabbed a towel. He wet it and returned into the living room. He started wiping away the blood from Jounouchi. "What happened?"

"The guy attacked Yugi."

Kaiba looked over to see Atemu cradling his young lover. "We'll have to get him to the hospital," Atemu said. "I can't tell if his arm is broken or not. He's still in shock and not saying much."

"Did you attack the man?"

"I did. He was going to rape Yugi. There was no way that was happening while I was still in the room."

The door bursts open for the second time that night, putting everyone on edge. The Domino police force ran in with guns held in front of them. They all lowered their guns and one of them walked over to Kaiba. "What's the situation?"

"They left after I gave them fake codes that would seem like the real ones for almost an hour. Yugi is in shock and may have a broken arm. Jounouchi was beaten badly. Atemu has a cut on his wrist that will need cleaned and maybe stitched. All will need to go to the hospital. Then I need protection for everyone. Have you heard anything from Roland?"

"Tanaka Hiroshi is in the process of being transported to a disclosed location."

The radio went off calling to the lead police officer. "Base to Officer Niwa."

The tall raven haired man reached for the radio. "Go for Officer Niwa."

"Roland request that all his charges be transported to the hospital and not sent in separate direction," the female voice said.

"Roger that." He put the radio back on his belt and looked around at the men in the room. "All of you are coming with us. We have a large enough van to transport you."

Kaiba nodded and reached for a very staggering Jounouchi. The blond swayed on his feet and leaned most of his weight on Kaiba. Atemu reached down and put his one arm under Yugi's legs and the other behind his back. He carried the young man down the stairs. Honda moved out of the room last with one arm around Otogi's waist and the other arm around Mokuba's shoulder. They all climbed into the back of the large van, remaining silent. The stress that they've been through the past few weeks was enough to make Kaiba want to quit his job. He knew he never would, but it was tempting at that very moment.

They all arrived without further incident at that hospital. Atemu still had a silent Yugi in his arms. It was starting to worry the former pharaoh and the CEO. They knew Yugi was gentle my nature but he never clamed up like this. There was that one time when he first became aware of Atemu's presence, but he did respond to things around him. Yugi was strong and the brunet didn't know what exactly happened that would cause Yugi to become unresponsive. Kaiba glanced over at Jounouchi. He looked closed to falling asleep, but the brunet kept persuading him to stay awake. He feared that Jounouchi had a concussion and wanted a doctor to look at him before they let him rest. The officers led them into the emergency room and directly into a large white room that was waiting for them.

Kaiba helped Jounouchi on one of the beds while Atemu gently laid Yugi on the other. He ran his fingers through his lover's hair still trying to get a response. The doctor came in with a few nurses while the police stood outside. He was tall with glasses and about middle age. "My name is Doctor Usami. The police told me nothing about what happened. Can someone explain?"

Kaiba nodded. "It's a long story, but I'll sum it up. A group of people who has been after me for some time down broke into the place we were hiding. They tied us all up at first but Atemu," he pointed to the man as he addressed him. "Managed to pull his arm free. As of the last time I checked, it was still bleeding at the wrist."

The doctor nodded to one of the nurses who struggled to get Atemu to sit down even though all he wanted to do was stand by Yugi. The young female nurse knelt beside him and looked at the wrist before getting up to bring some supplies over. "They separated us into groups of two. They put Yugi and Jounouchi into one room. There's something wrong with Yugi's arm, and he doesn't seem to be responding to what's going on around him. They beat Jounouchi and he's tired now. I've been keeping him awake the whole time."

Doctor Usami looked to the other two nurses. "I'll handle the little one," he said moving over to Yugi. Atemu hissed as the woman placed alcohol on his wound. He watched the doctor very carefully. The doctor ran his fingers along Yugi's arm before putting his hand on the side of his cheek. "Yugi, can you hear me? It's okay to come back now. Your family and friends are waiting. I want to help you with this arm, but I need you to tell me what hurts."

The doctor blinked a few times when he didn't get a response. He didn't want to send the catatonic youth down for an x-ray. It might scare him if he happens to come back and doesn't have anyone familiar around him. "Nurse," he called. "Bring the portable x-ray; this young man is in extreme shock."

Atemu stood after the nurse finished stitching his wound and left to do what the doctor asked. He walked over to the other side of Yugi and held his hand. "Aibou, the doctor is here to help. Please come back to me. All your friends are here. Jounouchi is here as well. We're all safe." Yugi turned his head to Atemu and said the blond's name very slowly, emphasizing each syllable. The former pharaoh smiled. "That's right. The nurses are helping him now."

Yugi blinked and instantly started shivering. The doctor pulled the sheets and covers over him, holding his arm up to keep it from being covered. Yugi winced. "Hurts."

Doctor Usami gently placed it down. "Does it hurt at the top of your arm or the bottom?"

"Bottom," Yugi whispered placing his hand over the spot that hurt the most.

The nurse returned a few minutes later pushing a middle sized device. She slid it over to the side and plugged it in, allowing it to warm up before usage. "Yugi," the doctor said gently. "I need to take an x-ray of your arm. Will you let me?" The smaller man slowly nodded. "Okay. Atemu will have to step away for a second, but he will be standing right behind me." The doctor placed something solid over Yugi while Atemu walked towards the doctor. He placed a board under Yugi's arm, apologizing for hurting the man. He looked at everyone else in the room, making sure they were all behind the makeshift shield. "Okay, Yugi, can you turn your head to the right and hold your breath." The doctor quickly snapped the image. "You can breathe again. I'm going to take one more picture." The nurse moved over to the machine and reset it. "Okay, Yugi, hold your breath one more time."

Once everything was done, the nurse left with everything they placed on top of Yugi. Atemu moved back over to Yugi's side and held his hand. "You did very well, Aibou."

"I agree. I'm going to go look at the images in a moment. I'll be right back," he told Yugi before turning and glancing at everyone else in the room. "Is anyone else hurt?" Everyone else shook their head. He walked over to Jounouchi and looked at the wounds the nurses had already cleaned and bandaged. He took his small flashlight out of his pocket and shined it into the blond's eyes. He watched the reaction a few times. "He's okay to sleep. There's no concussion. Are you in a lot of pain, Jounouchi?"

"No. How's Yugi?"

"He's responding again. Don't worry. Just get some sleep."

Jounouchi nodded and turned his head to the side before falling asleep. Kaiba pulled up a chair and sat down beside him. He gently held his hand, concerned at how quickly his lover fell asleep. The doctor moved over to the other three who continued to stand in the corner. "The three of you looked exhausted. There's one more bed in the back. One of you can take it. I'll have someone bring another two in." Doctor Usami moved out of the room to go look at the images.

Kaiba glanced over at his little brother. "Mokuba, try to get some sleep for me."

"Okay, Nii-sama," Mokuba answered, walking over to the last available bed at the moment. He curled under the blanket, still shivering. A male nurse walked in a moment later, pushing one bed and pulling the other. He placed them in the back of the room with Mokuba's before walking back out the door.

Otogi moved over to the first bed and climbed up on it. Honda didn't move at first. "Are you going okay if we went to sleep for a little bit?"

"We'll be fine. As soon as the doctor finishes with Yugi we'll all go to sleep."

"Wake us if you need anything." Kaiba nodded, while Honda moved over to his bed. He didn't want to cause any trouble so he didn't sleep in the same bed as Otogi. Even though he was sure Kaiba's presence would stop any disturbances it may cause, he didn't want to be the reason for any added stress. The three fell asleep nearly as quickly as Jounouchi. In fact, it was becoming more and more difficult keeping himself awake.

The doctor returned a moment later. "The good news is it's not a severe break and it's only broken in one place. It should heal nicely." Doctor Usami walked over to Yugi and smiled at him. "We're going to put your arm in a cast and then give you something to help the pain. It'll make you tired so don't fight it, okay?" Yugi nodded and closed his eyes. He had finally stopped shivering and was feeling slightly better beside the continuous pain coming from his arm and the dryness in his mouth. He winced and squeezed Atemu's hand tightly when they started placed his arm in the cast.

Atemu brought his hand up and kissed his fingers. "It's okay, Aibou. They're almost done." When the cast was finally set and the doctor stopped touching his arm, Yugi slowly released his grasp.

The doctor injected Yugi and watched as the smaller man's eyes slowly fluttered shut. "It was also a slight sedative to help him relax. He'll be okay once he wakes. Is your wrist okay?"

"It's fine."

"Okay. If anyone of you need anything, inform one of the police officers standing outside. Since nothing is life threatening the nurses will only check on you every couple hours. If anything changes let us know right away like a fever, chills or something else starts to hurt. I'll see you all in," the doctor stopped and glanced at his watch, "the afternoon since it's almost nine o'clock now. You two need rest as well. Try to get some." The doctor paused at the door and dimmed the lights, leaving the group alone.

"I'm sorry," Kaiba said quickly.

Atemu sighed, placing Yugi's hand down. The small man mumbled before curling it under the covers. The former pharaoh walked over to Kaiba and pulled a chair up beside him. "It was wrong of me to say something like that. There was no way you could control what those men would do. You didn't know what would happen if you gave them what they wanted."

"If no one was in the same room as Yugi, they would have raped him."

"But they didn't."

Kaiba growled. "None of you should have been involved. I should have pushed Jounouchi away. Then, when they came again, they would have just had me."

"Would you have been happy without us, without Jounouchi?"

"No, but at least all of you would be safe."

"Jounouchi might have been safe, but he wouldn't have been happy. You can't protect the world."

Kaiba was about to respond when Roland walked into the room. "Are you okay, Kaiba-sama?"

"We'll be fine. What about Tanaka?"

"Domino Police have him now. They are interrogating him. The codes have already been changed, and it looks like nothing was accessed."

"Did you find any proof?"

"We are looking now. We did track the computer and managed to find it abandoned about a mile away from Tanaka's country house. They must know he's gone."

"Was anyone hurt?"

"No. He went quietly along. That's something you shouldn't worry about now. We'll handle the investigation. You should be able return to your normal life soon. Without money, I don't think those men will come after you anytime soon."

Kaiba nodded and watched his lifelong friend walk out of the room. Even though it made him feel relieved to finally have that pressure off him, the damage done should have been prevented. He glanced over at Yugi squirming in his sleep and back to Jounouchi. He looked back at his little brother and over at Honda and Otogi. They were safe for now, but what of the future? Was this just a small example of what could happen? Would he be able to keep them safe next time? He knew other CEO's had lives of their own and numerous friends, but how could they keep them safe? Why was he different from those men? Could it be because he didn't have ties with the underground? Would he be more protected if he gave crime lords money? He shook his head and gently took Jounouchi's hand. There was no way the blond would allow him to do something so foolish. He knew that Jounouchi was once in a gang. It would bring back terrible memories if he knew Kaiba was hiring a gang to keep him protected.

The brunet glanced over at Atemu who had been watching him the whole time. "It doesn't get easy, does it?"

Atemu sighed. "Even though my time as pharaoh was short, I couldn't tell you how many times my life or the lives of my friends were threatened. It's never easy watching someone suffering and thinking that there was something you could have done to stop it. My people died daily because they didn't have enough food or water. My soldiers killed people that were trying to invade our country. I gave up my life to save them all. It's never easy. You want to make the right decisions that will keep everyone safe and happy, but sometimes you have to take the risk. You shouldn't let this event stop you from having your happiness. This horrific event has taken too many victims. Don't let it make you and Jounouchi a victim as well. You two were meant to be together. Learn from this. Make yourself stronger. I'm sure you'll be watching people more closely now, but don't let that interfere with your life."

The formal pharaoh smiled and placed his hand on Kaiba's shoulder. "Your personnel have proven to you to be people you can trust. Assign new jobs to the ones you trust. Yugi is looking for a new job. The business he's working for is taking advantage of him. He does have a business degree and is one of your trusted friends. Jounouchi is strong and even though he never went to college doesn't mean he can't run things from your mansion. He did a wonderful job of running the tip line while you were gone. Honda doesn't have a degree in business, but he's always had a great talent for law and order. There are plenty of people around you willing to help. Open up, Kaiba, and let them in. And, take care of Jounouchi. He's my best friend. I want to see him smile again."

The brunet looked up at Atemu and nodded. He had never thought of bringing his friends into his world. It would be the perfect way to protect them and keep things under control. Kaiba smiled softly down at the sleeping blond. He placed his hand back around Jounouchi's hand and put his head down. Everything was starting to make sense again. They made it. This whole event could be closed even though the group of hooded figures was still out there. Kaiba closed his eyes. They were least of his concern. He was sure that Tanaka would give them up if he wanted something in return. That is if he knew who they were.

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I hope everything ran smoothly. I tried to smooth everything out. I had this chapter written awhile ago and ended up adding even more to this chapter. Thank you all for reading. Please review. The next chapter will be uploaded on Friday.

Angel Dove


	17. Chapter 17

Thank you for your kind reviews. There is only one chapter left after this. Both of these chapters will be about the same size.

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Chapter Seventeen

Several long months went by before anyone knew what was going on. Tanaka was sent to prison, and his business went bankrupt. Kaiba felt horrible for his employees but he couldn't trust them enough to hire them. The army of men was never seen from again. Kaiba wasn't concerned, but he still kept an eye out for anything that could be signs of them returning. He couldn't believe that they would disappear without a trace, but it made sense with how quickly they came into the CEO's life. He hoped that the new security would be able to spot them if they chose to try again.

Kaiba stood in the middle of his office in complete shock. When did the seasons changed? What was he doing that required all of his attention that he didn't notice when the warm weather faded away to cold weather? He watched in shock as more snowflakes flew pass his window. The papers he was reading remained in a scattered mess on the floor. He walked over to the window and placed his hand on the glass, watching his warmth fog the cold surface. He stared in awe as if this was his first time seeing snow. He knew Christmas was coming but he didn't think more on it until he saw the snow falling.

"Kaiba, I finished..." Yugi trailed off. "Is something wrong?"

"When did it become winter?"

"The weather man said we would have snow starting today. It's been cold for several weeks. Are you feeling alright?"

Kaiba laughed. "I'm fine. I've been so busy that I've never noticed so much time was passing. What were you saying?"

"I've finished categorizing today's stock reports. We are balanced and checked with no suspicious activity. Mokuba is taking your spot in the board meeting today while I take you out shopping. He says that not only have you not spoken to Jounouchi about his father but you haven't bought him a Christmas gift yet. Mokuba is tired of you bothering him to find out exactly what happened even though you knew his father tried to commit suicide. Don't look at me like that. I'm not telling you either. If there is something you want to know, ask him yourself. Plus, I don't want to get on his bad side this close to Christmas."

The CEO groaned and picked up the papers he dropped. He knew he would eventually talk to Jounouchi about his past, but he didn't want to push him at that moment. "I don't even know what I want to get him. He hasn't even given me a clue."

"He's probably given you plenty, but you're not seeing them. Tell you what. If you try buying something I know he won't like for Christmas, I'll stop you. Okay?"

Kaiba sighed and signed the paper before filing it in the out box. "Fine. Where should we start, Mr. Best Friend?"

Yugi chuckled. "My office first so I can get my jacket. Oh, and Honda will be our security detail today. He can help you as well."

"Oh fabulous. I'll have lots of people witness me making a fool out of myself. He's my lover and his best friends know more things than me."

"You can only claim he's been your lover for less than a year. He's been our best friend for several years. Of course we'll know more than you. You used to call him a Mutt, remember."

"Don't remind me." They first walked over to Yugi's office which sat in-between Kaiba and Mokuba's offices. The elevator ride was filled with Yugi constantly chatting about what he was getting Atemu for Christmas. Kaiba couldn't count how many times Yugi told him this same story. He didn't like knowing about anyone else's sex life, but the smaller man had to insist on telling him that he might be sore the day after Christmas when he came in to work. The mental images were not something he wanted.

"Can we talk about something other than you and Atemu humping each other?"

Yugi blushed. "I guess it is embarrassing. I'm just so nervous. Christmas is next week and I managed to collect everything that Atemu might find pleasurable. I've never done this before."

"Would it be easier if I told you that you don't have to come in the day after Christmas?" The smirk that graced Yugi's lips was like seeing the devil inside of an angel. Kaiba rolled his eyes. "If that's what you wanted, you could have just asked."

"Atemu said it would be more fun watching you squirm while you listened." Yugi placed his hands over his blushing cheeks. "Oh thank the gods you finally said that. Now, I can stop talking about it."

Kaiba banged his head off the metal elevator. "I'm going to kill him." The doors opened, revealing Honda standing by the door. He bowed gently to Kaiba and walked out, wearing his usual black suit and sunglasses. "How many times have I told you that you don't have to be so formal with me, Honda?"

The other brunet smirked and got into the car. "I want to at least show you respect in front of your employees. It wouldn't be wise if I walked up to you and smacked you in the back of the head every time I saw you. Now, where are we going?"

The CEO rolled his eyes before answering. "The mall, I suppose. I need to find some clue to what Jounouchi wants."

"You still don't know. Aw, man, you're hopeless. I feel sorry for Jounouchi. No wonder he seems depressed lately. But, more seriously. Are you sure about the mall? It's a week before Christmas. The place will be packed."

Kaiba sighed and rested his chin on his hand. "I have to for Jounouchi."

"The therapy isn't helping?" Yugi asked.

"I suppose you could say I'm not helping. She keeps telling me that I need to go out more, but I've been so busy. I still have a problem riding in an elevator with more than four people even if the elevator is huge."

Yugi frowned. It was odd seeing the once fearless man afraid of the human touch. It didn't help that he wasn't immediately put into therapy, but that wasn't his fault either. There was too much going on at that moment. Jounouchi and Mokuba seemed to be the only ones able to touch him once everything settled down. The night they celebrating putting Tanaka Hiroshi away was the first time anyone noticed Kaiba's problem. Otogi was drunk and wanted to dance with anyone. He grabbed Kaiba's hand and that was enough to put the CEO into a slight panic attack only because he was paying more attention to Jounouchi than anyone else in the room. The day after, Jounouchi finally convinced Kaiba to go to therapy. At first, Jounouchi went with him and sat in the waiting room. Now, Kaiba was confident enough to go on his own. They were all making great progress in returning to normal.

"Honda and I can stand on either side of you that way if someone were to run into you, it would be us," Yugi suggested.

"It's fine. I'll be fine. I need to do this sometime."

"I'm sure your doctor didn't want you just to jump into a den of lions. You should take baby steps."

"If I promise to tell you if it's becoming too much will you please drop the subject?"

Yugi nodded. "Sure, but you can't let it build. Let us know right away."

"Fine," Kaiba agreed and got out of the limousine as it pulled up to the entrance of the mall. He got out first followed closely behind by Yugi and Honda.

The brunet was lost in his thoughts as he walked through the mass of people. He would stop a few times at some of the stores and look around or simply look through their display windows. He felt utterly hopeless. What could he give his lover that would make him smile? What was Jounouchi hinting at? He stopped at the window of one of the shops when it suddenly dawned on him. He used to not believe in fate or the gods, but today he believed in them. Staring at him through the reflective window was the answer to all his questions. Honda and Yugi smiled at each other when Kaiba walked into the store with all the grace and confidence of someone who knew exactly what he was going for. Yugi laughed and followed his boss and friend. Finally they were getting somewhere.

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Jounouchi stood shivering in the middle of a park's snow covered grass with Kaiba's new guard puppy. He didn't know why he whined to Kaiba about getting a dog, but the overzealous German Sheppard was becoming too much to handle. The dog would constantly drag him along every time they went outside. He must have looked foolish to everyone around him. There were times when he would plant his feet in the ground and pull with all his might, but the dog wouldn't stop its merry walk. He wrapped his arms around himself again and looked up to see the snow still falling. "Come, Haruka," Jounouchi ordered firmly, watching as the dog finally obeyed him.

They continued their walk through the park that was less than a mile away from Kaiba's mansion. It was their favorite place to play and walk when it was warm out. Jounouchi glanced down at his feet, not paying attention. He wondered if Yugi would have better luck at getting Kaiba to find the perfect gift for him. All their gifts were wrapped and sitting under his bed, but he knew Kaiba still hadn't gotten him anything. He could tell that the CEO was distracted and hoped that he could figure out the hints he's been giving him for weeks now. He was lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice Haruka pause beside him while he ran right into a person.

The motion caused him to lose his balance, and he fell hard on the cold ground. "I'm sorry," he apologized quickly even though he didn't knock the other person to the ground.

"No need to...Katsuya?"

Jounouchi's eyes widened as he stared up at his father. He stood up quickly. "Hello, Father, I hope you've been well."

The elder Jounouchi frowned. "I've been doing fine. It looks like you have been as well. I have to go. It was good to see you again."

Jounouchi watched in pure agony as his father quickly walked up to a woman with a small girl attached to her leg. Tears collected at his eyes, and he fought to keep them down. He witnessed for the first time that his father was trying to move one, and he knew his father wouldn't want to be in his life again."I hope you're happy now, Father. Let's go home, Haruka."

The puppy whimpered and put his nose in Jounouchi's hand. The blond knelt down and wrapped his arms around the dog's neck, knowing that the smart puppy could sense his pain. He stood up and continued walking home. He nodded to the security positioned at the gates to the mansion before walking into the dark, deserted house. All of the maids were given the week off in order to enjoy the holiday with their family.

He opened the door to the warm house and sighed in delight to be out of the cold. "Sit," he ordered the dog while he dried the snow out of his fur. He unhooked the leash. "Go play." The dog didn't move. "Go on, Haruka." The dog bumped his nose to Jounouchi's cheek before licking it. The blond laughed and pushed the head away. "I'm fine. Go play." This time the dog ran off to someplace in the mansion. Jounouchi frowned and hung his jacket up to dry. He took his boots off and started in the house.

He walked up the stairs to his room. He had to get this wave of depression out of him before Kaiba came home. His lover was better than the dog at knowing when he was sad. He closed the door until there was a small crack left open for the dog to push open if he wanted to come into the room. Jounouchi collapsed on the bed and buried his face into the pillows. The tears he was trying to fight spilled out of his eyes and dampened the pillow. He didn't know what hurt the most; his own father talking to him like he was a stranger, or the fact that he was with a woman and a child. He wailed all his grief into the pillow, not hearing or noticing Haruka crawling onto the bed with him. The dog whined and put his head and paw on Jounouchi's back as it rapidly rose and fell. Obviously the dog didn't like his master in that mood.

Jounouchi cried himself into sleep with his face still buried in the pillow. He had no intention of falling asleep and wanted to get up afterwards to wash the evidence of his tears away, but his tired body had other plans. Haruka's ears perked when he heard a car coming close to the house a few minutes later. He jumped off the bed with enough force to cause it to bounce, but it didn't disturb the blond.

Kaiba opened the door, expecting Jounouchi like usual standing by the door. He heard clicking of clawed feet coming towards him. He bent down and opened his arms. "Hello, Haruka," he said, but the dog didn't jump on him like usual. He grabbed Kaiba's jacket with his teeth and pulled him along. "What is it?" Fearing that something happened to Jounouchi, Kaiba ran after the dog and up to their bedroom.

Haruka jumped back on the bed and placed his head back on Jounouchi's lower back. Kaiba walked over to the obviously sleeping blond and brushed a few of his strands of hair out of his face. He gasped when he saw the wet pillow and the trails of dried up tears on his cheek. "Jounouchi," Kaiba whispered, pulling the blond into his arms.

Jounouchi woke with a start and instantly started to relax when he noticed that it was only Kaiba. "Don't scare me like that," he said, noting that his voice was very hoarse. He cleared his throat, trying to dislodge the phlegm in it.

Kaiba wrapped his arms around Jounouchi. "What's wrong? Did I do something to make you sad? I'm sorry that I haven't been around too often. I'm sorry that it took me so long to find your Christmas gift, but I did find it. Please don't cry, Jounouchi."

Jounouchi fixed himself so he sat with his legs wrapped around Kaiba's waist and his arms around his neck. "It wasn't you. It's not your fault."

"Tell me what happened."

"I saw my father today," Jounouchi said in a soft voice. He knew that Kaiba didn't know much about what happened, but he was willing to tell his lover everything. "But, let me explain everything first."

Haruka moved further onto the bed and placed his head on Kaiba's stretched out legs as the brunet made himself comfortable against the headrest with Jounouchi in his lap. "Not too long after I graduated from high school, I came home to see that my father tried to kill himself while he was drunk. Yugi was supposed to meet me there and we were going to go out afterwards. I don't remember much about that night besides the fact that we managed to get him to the hospital. My father refused to talk to me after that especially once he found out that I signed the papers to have him committed to an mental institution wanting to get him all the help he needed even knowing that there was a chance he would hate me for life. I sold everything we owned to pay off his debts. The government, thankfully, paid for my father's hospital bills. They took our house, but that was fine. I was already in the process of moving in with Honda and Yugi.

I picked up three jobs. One of the jobs paid enough for me to put money into the rent and buy food for the house. The other two jobs combined were enough to pay everything off that he owed. I had to fight my way pass a lot of loan sharks and deal with them constantly saying that I owed more, but I managed to finally get them off my back, and they would never go after my father again. During that time, I never sent anything to my father and he never sent anything to me. I got progress reports from the doctors. I knew he was getting better."

Jounouchi smiled. "I was proud of him. He was finally turning his life around, and I wanted nothing but to help him any chance I got. After the debts were paid off, I quit one of my jobs and continued working the other two. Again, the one job was enough to still pay everything I needed for the house and the other job's income went right to a savings account. I could tell from the reports that my father would make it out of the hospital again so I wanted to be ready for it. I didn't want to inconvenience my friends, and they shouldn't have to help take care of him. The money I collected would be enough to rent an apartment and pay for the security deposit. It would also be enough money to pay for all our food while my father searched for a job. I had everything planned except for one important thing. I didn't know if he still hated me or if he forgave me. I couldn't get enough courage to write him a letter nor visit him.

I was becoming lonely and scared at the same time. It was ruining all my moods, and I found myself more exhausted then normal. I think Yugi and Honda figured out that something was wrong and kept trying to get me out of the house on my days off. At first I thought it was just Yugi's excitement about having Atemu back in his life again as a separate body. The night I met you again was the best night of my life. I felt complete and happy. So when Mokuba came to tell me that you never came home. I felt crushed, and I knew I had to do something."

The blond rested his head on Kaiba's shoulder, feeling the brunet tightening his arms around him. "I didn't care about my jobs any longer and I started using all the money in my savings. I would send my share of the rent to Yugi and Honda every month even though they said I didn't have to because they made enough to sustain the house bills while I was gone. I refused because I should be helping them. Mokuba offered to pay me for the time I spent working on the hotline, again I refused. I stubbornly wanted to be the one to personally find you. As the months went by, I slowly saw my savings going down to nothing. I was about to get a new job when Yugi called to tell me that there was a letter from my father. I thought he was going to tell me that he was getting out in a few days, and I had no place to go and no money to do anything with it. But, it turned out to be worse. He told me that he never wanted to see me again. He never forgave me for what I did even though I did it out of love. I wanted him to get better. I wanted him to become the man I knew he was before my parents divorced. It hurt severely to read that he never wanted to see him again. I didn't know what to do with myself. You were gone. Mokuba was having a hard time with your company. My friends were trying to help me and my father disowned me. I managed, though, to continue on with my life.

My father always remained in the back of my mind this whole time. I wondered what he was doing and how was he affording things. I hoped he didn't start drinking and gambling again. I hoped he was happy even if it was without me. Today, I saw him again. He treated me like I was someone he knew from the past and not like his own son. Then he walked off to join a woman with a small child clung to her leg." Jounouchi's tears fell again, and he sobbed into Kaiba's chest. "He doesn't need me. He doesn't want me. Was I the cause of all his pain? Is that why he didn't say much to me and refused to see me again?" The blond hiccupped and sobbed his broken heart away.

Kaiba pulled his legs up, giving the dog an apologetic look before wrapping protectively around Jounouchi. "It's not you, Jounouchi. You did nothing to him. It is his own insecurities that are hurting himself and now you. I know this is going to be hard to hear but you have to let him go. If you let him remain in your heart and mind, he will continuously cause you pain. I know it might be hard to do at this moment, but I have faith that you'll be able to accomplish that difficult task."

The CEO flipped them around and gently put Jounouchi down on the bed. He kissed each cheek and smiled softly at the still crying blond. He lied down beside him and traced unknown patterns into Jounouchi's chest. The blond closed his eyes, enjoying the soft touch of his lover. The soothing motion and soft whispers allowed the tension to melt away from Jounouchi's body. He slowly began to calm down and found himself thinking less and less of his father. He began to realize that if his father wasn't hurting over him then he shouldn't wallow in self pity. He opened his eyes and looked up at Kaiba's beautiful blue eyes. He has something of his own that caused him happiness. He found himself slowly smiling. He shouldn't focus on the pain of the past but focus on the happiness in the present and the future they would have together.

"So, you said you got my Christmas gift."

Kaiba chuckled and placed a kiss on Jounouchi's lips. "Yes."

"Can I see it?"

"No."

"Why not? I'm sure you have it wrapped already."

"It's not Christmas yet."

"Aw, come on, Dragon. Let me see it. I want to know the size of the box."

"Sorry, Pup, the box was too big to fit inside the front door. You won't be able to see it until Christmas."

Jounouchi pouted and Kaiba chuckled before pulling his lover's lower lip into his mouth and sucking on it. The blond groaned and wiggled underneath Kaiba. "If you keep doing that I won't get up to make anything for dinner."

"You're not for dinner? But you're delicious."

Haruka had enough of his masters playing together. He got up and pushed Kaiba out of the way before lying on top of Jounouchi. The blond huffed. "I guess he wants me to make dinner. Get off me, you beast."

Kaiba chuckled. "You're the one that thought he was too cute to pass up."

Jounouchi rolled his eyes and pushed the dog off him. "I'm going to make dinner. Do you want to help?"

"If I must."

"Get changed first. I'll meet you down there. Come, Haruka."

The dog bounced off the bed and walked obediently behind Jounouchi.

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One more chapter left. I might upload it on Sunday if I have it ready if not it'll defiantly be uploaded on Monday. Thank you all for reading. Please review.

Angel Dove


	18. Chapter 18

I want to take this time to thank all of you for reading and for your kind reviews. I'm happy you all stayed with me to the end. This chapter is the last one. I hope everyone likes it. I don't know which direction I'll be going after this story. I may see if I can write more to Shadow in the darkness. I might have another part of it thought of. It'll take me a while since it's almost the official Christmas Season and I'll be very busy. Anyway. Onward to the last chapter.

Warning: Yaoi again.

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Chapter Eighteen

The week before Christmas dragged extremely slow for the young CEO. He didn't know whether he should feel nervous or excited. Jounouchi's friends approved of his gift, but he still had his doubts. He didn't want to disappoint his lover on Christmas Eve. The small group of friends decided to exchange their Christmas gifts on that day so that the couples could be together. Mokuba had already planned to spend the day at a hotel until close to dinnertime with Haruka and a bunch of video games. That was going to be his gift to his brother.

Finally the day arrived and the small group of friends found themselves in the decorative living room. Jounouchi had a blast finding the perfect decorations and placing them all over the mansion. He spent several days decorating and baking while he played with Haruka. Jounouchi sat excitedly in the living room waiting for his group of friends to arrive. Atemu and Otogi were meeting their lovers at Kaiba Corp. and the whole group was taking the limousine home. The blond paced in the living room again, making sure the gifts were neatly tucked under the tree and the trays of finger food were perfectly lined together.

The car drove up the driveway, waking Haruka. The dog bounced to the entrance and sat wagging his tail while he waited for his second master. "I'm home," Kaiba shouted, feeling the heavy dog jump up on him. He chuckled and patted his head while the group of friends walked around him. Jounouchi smiled brightly, wearing a Santa Hat, black pants and a red Christmas sweater. His feet were bare like always. He kissed his lover before taking everyone's coats and hanging them up in the closet.

The happy dog bounced around everyone in the foyer before running off to the living room. Jounouchi's eyes widened. "Haruka, no!" he shouted just as the dog tried to get something off the tray. He picked it up and held it away from the dog. "All day long you didn't touch them, but right when guest come you have to show everyone that you're a brat." The dog moved over to his favorite spot in front of the fireplace and laid his head down to watch everyone in the room. The blond sighed and shook his head.

"Sounds familiar," Mokuba said, stealing a cookie from the tray.

The blond glared. "And what is that suppose to mean?"

"We don't know what you do in this house alone, but you always greet Nii-sama and I happily everyday."

Kaiba smacked his brother in the back of the head. "Be nice. I like it when he's excited when I get home. Plus, if I was ever curious, I could watch the security tapes."

"But they don't cover the bedrooms or the bathrooms."

"Hey! I do not do that!"

"That would explain why he's always happy unless you two have sex everyday," Honda cut in.

Jounouchi tried to answer, but he found himself unable to answer. His face turned bright red. "Do you?" Otogi asked excitedly.

"N-no," Jounouchi stuttered.

"They have sex like every two days. I can tell when they do. Nii-sama doesn't need coffee to wake up in the morning and Jounouchi likes to touch Seto a lot on those mornings."

"Enough, everyone, it's Christmas. Let's not talk about our sex life."

"Let's open presents," Yugi said excitedly. He couldn't wait to see the look on Jounouchi's face when he opened the gift from Kaiba.

"Fine," the blond whined. "Don't eat any of my food and get all excited over gifts."

"No one says we can't eat and open gifts at the same time," Honda said, grabbing a whole tray of small sandwiches and setting them on the smaller table that sat in front of the couch. He sat on the floor and started devouring the food while Otogi handed their gifts to their friends. That year they decided to give gifts as a pair except for Mokuba. Everyone was giving Mokuba a gift while the raven haired man gave to each pair. Otogi gave a small box to Yugi and Atemu, a rather large box to Mokuba and a medium sized boxed to Jounouchi and Kaiba. Yugi did the same and followed shortly by Jounouchi. Once all the gifts were handed out. It was deemed that Mokuba should open everything first.

The young man tore the paper apart like he was a small child again. He screamed in delight when everyone together gave him a new system and some games to play on it. He set the boxes and games aside and waited for everyone else to open their gifts. He figured it would be easier to transport the system and games to the hotel still in a box than all in pieces. Honda and Otogi went next. They laughed at the large box of flavored lubricate and condoms given to them by Jounouchi and Kaiba. Yugi and Atemu got them a game. A large cat sat on its back hind legs with its paw in the air. When you pulled the paw down, its mouth opened revealing a note. On it, Atemu wrote; "Inside is a list of games to play with your secret lover. Don't read further unless you want to be embarrassed. Have fun and remember Honda needs to be back to work on December 27." Honda chuckled and looked at the gift from Mokuba. Inside his box were personalized dog tags with their names on it with their favorite duel monsters on the back.

Yugi decided to go next, first choosing to open their gift from Kaiba and Jounouchi. The blond started chuckling from his spot by the tree. Yugi's face turned bright red as he stared at the book inside. Atemu picked it up and started flipping through the pages of "101 ways to please your lover." He smiled and stopped at a part in the book. "Oh, Yugi, we need to try this one." Yugi smacked his leg and tried to hide his face.

Kaiba smirked. "Payback for constantly telling me what you got Atemu."

Yugi sighed and opened the box from Otogi and Honda, inside was two open tickets for them to go anywhere they wanted for a week. The shorter man smiled and pressed the tickets close to his chest. "Now we can go on our honeymoon."

"And we're packing this book," Atemu commented still flipping through the book.

Yugi rolled his eyes and opened the last gift from Mokuba. He stared in awe at the stone statue of the Dark Magician. It was painted beautifully and stood about a food tall on the table. The statue was enough to draw Atemu's attention away from the book. They both truly loved the statue that Mokuba found at a craft store. They thanked the young man for the beautiful gift.

Kaiba and Jounouchi went last. Jounouchi looked in confusion at the four boxes. "Someone gave us two gifts."

"No. This one is from me, but you open that last."

"I can open it tomorrow."

"I'm sure your friends want to see it too. You can open it tonight."

Jounouchi nodded and reached for the first gift from Mokuba. He opened the box and inside was a small note. He chuckled and handed it over to Kaiba. "Looks like we are kid and dog free tomorrow until dinner. You know you don't have to."

"Hey, I want time to play my new games in peace."

He picked up the next gift from Honda and Otogi. He stared in confusion as he looked inside the box. It looked like a box of dog fur. He picked up the object and dropped it back into the box almost instantly. Honda chuckled. "You have to actually look at it."

"No I don't. I know what a butt plug looks like!"

"It actually wags," Otogi said through his chuckles. "You have to try it. Oh gods does it feel great. Honda bought a cat tail for me. When it wags it vibrates too. I had one of the best orgasms just with that in my butt."

"Okay!" Jounouchi shouted. "I don't want to hear about it."

He put the gift aside and reached for Yugi and Atemu. He stared at Atemu's evil face before giving it to Kaiba. "You open it. I'm sure Atemu has something inside of it that will be too embarrassing to pick up."

Kaiba chuckled and opened it for Jounouchi. "Pup, you have to look at this. It's okay."

Jounouchi took one look inside. "Wrap that back up. Mokuba is not seeing that."

Atemu chuckled. "You have to try it on."

"No!"

"What is it?" Mokuba asked, very curious.

Kaiba pulled the seemingly innocent pink apron out of the box. On the top of the apron it read; "Do you want to sample what the chef is making" then an arrow points down. Kaiba opened the pouch and inside there was a hole to stick the person's penis through.

Mokuba chuckled. "You are not to wear that when I'm here. Maybe tomorrow, huh, Nii-sama?"

Jounouchi throw the apron away. "No way! I will not wear any of that."

"It's so much fun embarrassing you, Jounouchi," Atemu said while chuckling.

The blond folded his arms and pouted, completely forgetting about Kaiba's present. The brunet picked the box up off the floor and set it in Jounouchi's lap. The blond stared at the box for a few seconds before slowly opening it. It was too big and heavy to be the ring he wanted for Christmas, but Kaiba was good at hiding things. He bit his lower lip as he moved the paper away from the brown box. He put the box down on the floor and pulled the tape off the top of the box. The box instantly exploded open. Jounouchi jumped back and watched as a man inflated right in front of him. He closed his eyes for a second, hoping it wasn't a sex toy like what he got from everyone else. When the dummy stopped inflating he looked up at the Kaiba twin. The dummy's hands were folded with the palms up and holding a small black box. The scroll that was attached to his hands read; "Will you be my husband?"

Jounouchi gasped and placed his hand over his mouth. He smiled and opened the box. Inside was a beautiful silver ring that had a ruby and a sapphire surrounded by diamonds and black opals. He placed the ring on his finger and held his hand up to look at it. It simmered in the light. "Well, sorry everyone," Jounouchi said, tucking the inflatable Kaiba under his arm. "I'm marrying this man." He started out the door and right into the foyer. Kaiba stared in shock. He thought Jounouchi would squeal and kiss him. He didn't expect the blond to walk out the door with the dummy.

"Dragon," Jounouchi shouted from the foyer. Kaiba walked passed everyone and glanced out the doorway. The blond stood at the door with the dummy next to him. He pulled out a packaged from the hall closet and handed it to his lover. Kaiba opened the box and inside was a small piece of paper that said, "Yes." Behind it were signed marriage papers. "All you have to do is sign those and once they're filed we'll be married."

"How?"

"The Prime Minister supports you. All I was waiting for was the ring. By the way, it's gorgeous." Jounouchi leaned up and kissed Kaiba deeply. The brunet instantly reacted and wrapped his arms around Jounouchi, deepening the kiss. The two broke apart to the clapping behind Kaiba. "So, where did you get the look alike?"

"It was at some crazy fan store in the mall. It gave me the idea I needed." Kaiba brought Jounouchi back into the living, leaving his inflatable version. "You should have seen the look on the man's face when I said I wanted to buy it."

Jounouchi chuckled and thanked everyone that congratulated them. The rest of the night went by peacefully. They all chatted about random things from what they should get Kaiba and Jounouchi for their wedding to when Atemu and Yugi were going to adopt their first child. The grandfather clock chimed in the background, signaling midnight. Everyone glanced at it before deciding it was time to return to their own homes. Yugi had finally moved in with Atemu while Honda moved in with Otogi. That left their original house empty. Kaiba took over the payments until they decided what to do with it. He knew eventually he would give it to Mokuba if he wanted to move out. The three now Kaibas wished everyone a good night and watch them go. Kaiba kissed Jounouchi and ruffled Mokuba's hair. It was time for them to get some much needed sleep.

The next morning, Jounouchi woke first and eased himself out of Kaiba's arms. The CEO was still exhausted from all the work he had to do in the past few months. He deserved a chance to catch up on all the missed sleep. The blond walked a few doors down and noticed that Mokuba was not in there. He took one look around the house and stopped at the living room. The game system they got Mokuba for Christmas was gone and no signs of Haruka. He smiled devilishly. He never would have the courage to do this while someone was around. He stripped his clothes off and reached for the box with the dog tail. Inside, he noticed that there was a bottle of lubricate. He opened the unscented oil and placed it on his fingers. He slowly played with his entrance and stretched himself with some difficulty. He bit his lip to focus on a different kind of pain. Once he was sure he got himself stretched as much as possible, he positioned the butt plug at his entrance. With the help of the couch, he managed to slide it inside of him. He gasped from the feeling and quickly hooked the one strap around his waist and the other one that went between his legs before also hooking it with his waist. The sandy colored fur tickled the back of his legs as he walked. He groaned as he adjusted to the feeling. It felt strange, but not painful.

Jounouchi walked over to box with the apron in it. He slipped the collar over his head and adjusted it until it was on straight. He took a deep breath and pushed his member through the hole. The hole was tight around his slightly erect member. He suddenly realized what it was used for. It was a cock ring. He tied the strings of the apron around his waist and walked carefully into the hallway where he knew the tall mirror sat attached to the closet door. He looked at himself in the mirror and blushed. He opened the pouch and chuckled, wondering what Kaiba would think when he saw him wearing this.

The blond shrugged and decided to start making something for their breakfast. He was slowly getting used to the tail. He moved about the kitchen like he has been for months now. He just got the toast on the skillet to make French Toast when suddenly the tail started to vibrate. He gasped and placed his hands on the counter. The fur tickled the back of his legs as it wagged back and forth. The vibration massaged his prostrate. He felt his member instantly start to swell, but only had enough room that was provided by the hole in the apron. He groaned and tried to get his body under control.

Kaiba walked behind him and turned the flame off the stove. He didn't want anything happening while he drank in the sexy sight before him. "Didn't you read the instructions?" he whispered into Jounouchi's ear. "It's controlled with a remote." He wrapped one arm around the blond's waist, keeping him steady while the other hand slid into the pouch to stroke Jounouchi's very erect member.

"Seto," he moaned, finally using his given name.

The brunet groaned. "Say it again. Just like that."

"Oh gods, Seto, if you don't stop we'll never have breakfast."

"Breakfast can wait." He grinded his hard member into Jounouchi's leg. "It was already forgotten when I came downstairs and saw you not only wearing the tail but the apron. You should have known that would happen."

The brunet increased the vibration to maximum. Jounouchi moaned loudly. Precum leaked all over the pouch. Kaiba ripped open the pouch and started quickly stroking Jounouchi. "I-I'm cumming, Seto. Oh gods." Jounouchi screamed and released all over the counter. His vision was blinded for a few moments. His entire body was sensitive to the touch and the vibration continued to massage his prostate.

It didn't take long until Jounouchi was ready for more. Kaiba moved them until they were directly in front of the small table that Jounouchi usually prepared his cookies on. The brunet turned the vibrator off and quickly unhooked it from the blond's body. He took the apron off as well and bent Jounouchi over the table. He inserted himself into Jounouchi slick entrance. He groaned from the heat. "Katsuya," he breathed. "You're still so tight."

Kaiba thrust quickly and strongly. He could barely hold on. Jounouchi knocked over the bowel of cookie cutters and gripped the edge of the table. He gasped and groaned. "Faster, Seto. Oh gods," he screamed. "Just like that."

It didn't take long before Jounouchi was cumming for the second time. The blond screamed his lover's name as his cum shot all over the table. The walls tightened around Kaiba's member. He thrust a few more times before emptying inside of Jounouchi, also screaming his lover's name. The brunet fell on top of the blond, pushing him further into the table. After a few moments of catching their breath, Kaiba removed himself from Jounouchi. The tired blond slipped to the floor, not caring that he was getting Kaiba's cum all over it.

The brunet pulled him into his arms and kissed his cheek. "You defiantly need to wear that more often. You had me so hot that I could barely contain myself."

Jounouchi leaned up and kissed him. "Maybe next time it'll be while I'm still in the bedroom. We need to clean up and eat something before I have to start making dinner. It'll take a long time to make."

Kaiba got up and pulled Jounouchi into his arms. He kissed him very gently. "Merry Christmas, Katsuya."

"Merry Christmas, Seto."

Jounouchi walked over to the counter to get some paper towels. He leaned down and hissed from the soreness. Kaiba gently took it from his hands and wiped up the mess for him. He walked with the blond upstairs to spend more time caressing his lover's body. They both took a long shower where their intimate touches heated until they were making love in the shower.

By the time they finally managed to eat something it was noon. With Kaiba's help, Jounouchi managed to get Christmas Dinner ready by the time Mokuba and Haruka came home. The rest of the night, Kaiba signed the papers for their marriage while Jounouchi and Mokuba played video games in the living room. He had planned to file these papers first thing in the morning and then going to get matching rings. He was sure Jounouchi would want to come along with him. Kaiba pulled out the laptop and started planning their honeymoon. He smirked, making sure to defiantly bring the tail and apron with them. He closed the laptop once everything was done and joined his family on the floor to play video games with them. Life finally felt perfectly in place. Kaiba smiled at his family and pulled them into his arms. This was worth fighting for.

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I hope that was to everyone's liking. Thank you once again for reading. Please review. And, I'll see you once I figure out what my next story will be.

Angel Dove


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